


Omertá

by katie334456



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood, Drug Use, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Gangs, Gun Violence, Guns, Italian Mafia, Love/Hate, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Porn With Plot, Slow Burn, Smut, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:13:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29077650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katie334456/pseuds/katie334456
Summary: It's 1933, and Lilianne Campbell, along with her fellow investigators, have a goal to bring the violent gangs of New York to their knees. However, Anne gets assigned to directly infiltrate one of them. What happens when she gets more than what she bargained for?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My friend and I started writing this out of boredom. Also, a big thank you to her for editing and adding in important details!

Anne's POV

I woke up to the sound of a police siren wailing down the street. I looked at my wristwatch, which I had apparently never removed, to check the time. 8:00 a.m. "Shit!" I quickly got up from the small work desk that I had fallen asleep at. I rapidly changed the dirty, coffee-stained clothes I fell asleep in and changed into a fresh pair. Walking past the mirror, I saw how absolutely horrid my hair looked, so I grabbed a brush and quickly brought the beauty back to my ginger locks. I glanced at the scattered paperwork that was splayed out on the desk and debated for a slight moment, wondering if I should just leave it there, or put it away. I decided to put everything back into its assigned folder, just in case, the room service decided to clean my room after I left for the day. I hastily took the folders and shoved them underneath the bed. The hotel I was staying in was fairly decent. The employees were very charming and made sure I had everything I needed for my stay. The room I was staying in was smaller and much darker than I expected, but the lamp offered provided enough light for me to continue my work. The bed was heavily cushioned and quite comfortable to lay on. There was a screen to the right of the bed, providing privacy to change. There was also a beautiful oak wood desk that sat a few feet away from the bed, which of course is where I had worked the night before.

It was about 8:15 before I finally left my room. I grabbed my coat before I headed out, and ran down the stairs. I got a few odd looks, but it was mostly from older couples. I dashed through the lobby, which was gorgeous, with walls lined with intricate designs of gold. It had extravagant tile and a lush red carpet, which ran through the middle of the room. "Hey! Watch it, miss!" exclaimed an older-looking woman, walking what seemed to be a fairly expensive breed of dog, out of the building. "Sorry!" I yelled, not even sparing a glance at the woman. "Shit I'm going to be late," I sighed looking at my watch. The air outside was cold and crisp, and I was getting impatient waiting for a cab. I thought one would never show up. Finally, a cab saw me and pulled over. I opened the door and got in as fast as I could.

"Where to miss?" the taxi driver asked, a slight hint of an accent in his voice. "Jina's Fresh Baked Sweets please," I replied, out of breath from the cold. The taxi driver nodded and started driving off. I started to look out the window, wondering how this investigation would go. It was very dangerous to investigate the Mafia. One wrong move, and you would be killed, no hesitation. At least from what I've heard, of course. What the hell was I thinking when I accepted this case? I was interrupted from my thoughts when the taxi driver asked, "Do you go to Jina's often?" "No, actually I've never been there before," I replied with a soft smile. He looked at me through the rearview mirror. "I recommend her coffee cake, it's very nice," he said. "Thank you, I'll be sure to try it out," I replied in an appreciative tone. He looked at me again with a confused expression. "I haven't seen you around here before hun. Where ya' from doll?" he asked. I thought for a second, pondering if I should truly reveal where I'm from. I decided against it and lied, "Manhattan, sir."

"Ah, I've never been there before," he replied. "I'm not a big fan of large cities." I nodded in response. I could sense a weird tension in the air, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I looked down at my shoes in thought. Maybe he works for one of the families? No, I'm being too paranoid. I looked back up only to meet the man's intense gaze again.

That's weird. He finally pulled up to Jina's bakery. "That'll be 50 cents, miss," the taxi driver said. I handed him the money. "Thanks," I said quickly, as I exited the cab. Shit, I hope Thomas won't mind my tardiness. The bell at the door chimed as I walked in. "Welcome!" greeted an older-looking woman. She was gorgeous, with a pastel pink blouse paired with a black skirt, that accentuated her hips. She had a cream-colored apron on over her clothes, that was covered in smears of icing and powder. She had the most beautiful hair I'd ever seen. Her hair was in an afro, an all-natural look, and she had the prettiest shade of pink on her lips. I smiled back at her in response and gave a slight nod of my head. I scanned the bakery for Thomas, who was seated at a booth towards the back corner of the bakery. He waved in my direction, motioning for me to come over. I rushed over to sit with him, my heels clicking on the tile floor as I walked, and sat on the opposite side of the booth. "Thomas, I'm incredibly sorry for being late. I didn't realize I slept in so late," I said apologetically. He casually dismissed my apology with a small smile. "It's ok, you must've stayed up all night looking over the case." "Spot on," I replied, letting out a small chuckle. Suddenly, the same woman who greeted me as I entered, walked over to our table.

"Can I 'getcha anything?" she asked. I looked over at Thomas, and he glanced back at me, signaling that I should order first. I thought about what the taxi driver recommended me to try. "I'll take a coffee cake," I replied. Thomas, fitting to his personality, proceeded to order a plain, black coffee. "Really Thomas? A black coffee? That's so boring," I playfully yawned. He looked at me with his icy blue eyes. "Yes, really. It wouldn't be manly if I asked for cream and sugar," he huffed. I rolled my eyes at his response. Manly my ass. "Anyways, anything new on the case so far?" I asked. Thomas replied, "Actually, yeah. We figured out that the Russo gang was supposed to deliver a shipment of booze to the Colombo gang, but never showed up." "Wow, they must've been hindered somehow," I replied with a questioning tone. Thomas continued, "Yeah, the Colombos were very displeased with the delay. They killed 15 men from Russo's gang on impulse." "Holy shit," I blurted out in disbelief. What an overreaction to a delayed shipment of booze. How do they react in actual serious situations? The thought made me shudder.

A few people heard my curses and looked over towards where Thomas and I were sitting. I gave an apologetic look to them. "Oops," I laughed as I turned back around to face Thomas. Thomas stared at me for a moment. "You have quite the foul mouth for a dame," he said shaking his head with a disapproving gaze. I rested my elbows on the table and closed my eyes, my long eyelashes fluttering shut. The sweet aroma of pastries and other sweets filled my nostrils. I abruptly opened my eyes when the older woman came by, gently placing our orders on the table. "Here's the black coffee and the coffee cake for y'all sweethearts. Enjoy!" she said, followed by, "I'm Jina by the way, let me know if you need anything else!" She said with the brightest smile on her face. Her teeth were pearly white, and her smile seemed to make the sun shine a little brighter. Thomas and I both gave our thanks before she walked away to tend to other customers. I looked around the bakery for a bit. There was a bar counter in the middle of the bakery and booths outlining the rest of it, along the walls. There were many plants and windows that offered a vast amount of sunlight.

This bakery was very comforting, to say the least. I was snapped back to reality from my observations when Thomas asked, "Are you gonna eat that?" I looked at him for a few seconds, donning the most intimidating look I could pull off. I swore it looked like he was about to piss his pants. God, I'm good at this. "If you even dare touch my coffee cake, I will not hesitate to put a bullet through your hand," I said sternly. After a couple of seconds of Thomas and I staring at each other, he put his hands in his lap. "Fine," he sighed, jutting out his bottom lip in a small pout. I took a bite of my coffee cake laughing a bit. "What? Are you going crazy because you didn't get enough sleep?" he asked confused and also a bit terrified. "No! It's hilarious that you looked like you were about to run away like a scared child when I looked at you like that," I said laughing uncontrollably. I sat there for a few minutes while trying to calm down. I wiped the tears that started to pool at the corner of my eyes from laughing, and Thomas looked at me unamused. "Alright, let's get down to business," the blonde said seriously. I knew the fun would have to come to an end soon. "So about the New York City Shoot-," he was interrupted by Jina. We both looked at her attentively. "Can I getcha a refill sweetheart?" she asked. "Oh no thank you, we were just about to head out," Thomas said politely. Jina nodded, "That'll be 20 cents then!" I reached for my small change purse I carried with me. Thomas shook his head, "It's ok, I've got this one." I closed my purse and put it back in my coat pocket. "Thanks, hun, y'all have a nice day," Jina said, with the same radiant smile on her face. Thomas thanked her, but I stopped Jina before she could walk away. "The coffee cake was amazing by the way, thank you!" I said delightfully. Jina's face went into a smile as she replied, "Thank you, it means a lot." I returned her smile and said goodbye.

Thomas and I walked out of the bakery and began walking down the street. We were headed for the temporary base that was set up for the investigators assigned to the New York City Shootout case. As we were walking, we got to take in everything. Newsboys were shouting, "Look here, Look here the NY Giants clinch the pennant!" trying to make a buck or two. Women were walking together on their morning strolls, along with their babies. God how I hate children, I thought. Thomas broke my thoughts, however. "Just so you know, we can't talk about our investigation anywhere except the base," Thomas said carefully. I looked at him and nodded. As we continued walking down the street I saw three men dressed from head to toe in expensive clothing. They all had very nice suits on, obviously tailored. They were all standing out of everyone's way, but they were still close enough to where they could easily be seen. It seemed like they were checking the women out. Gross.

Ew, what lowlifes they must be to stare at women like that. Thomas suddenly stopped. "What happened?" I asked. "Oh, nothing. I just see another investigator," he whispered. "They're going the wrong direction, I assume they're lost," he said examining the person. "Hey, I'll catch up with you once I see what this person is up to. There's a bench on the other side of that building right there if you want to wait for me there," he said while rushing towards the other investigator, his voice getting softer as he ran. "Wait, how do you know she's an investigator?" I said being cautious. Thomas stopped for a brief second. "I saw her face on the list of people who were working on this case with us," he said quickly. "Oh," I mouthed. Thomas then hurried over to the lady. He sees a pretty investigator lady and is head over heels for her. I returned from my thoughts. "Well, I guess that means I'll have to walk by those creepy men," I said to myself.

I could hear them laughing with each other from a block away. I could also see smoke coming from a cigar one of the men was smoking. How can people ruin their bodies like that, I thought. As a woman in this day and age, it was hard not to think about all the bad things that could happen while walking alone. However, I knew that if a man ever tried something on me, I could easily take care of myself. My father taught me self-defense and how to shoot a gun properly. I mean, by the age of 12 I was already shooting bullseyes on pistol targets he gave me. I was able to take down one of the bullies from my school as well, even though he weighed about 30 more pounds than I did. However, I was suspended for a month due to them thinking that "Ladies should not be engaging in such activities." To hell with that. As I was walking closer to the men I could hear a part of their conversation.

From the way they sounded, they easily could've been in their late-twenties or thirties. "Yeah, those ol' Russo pigs got what they deserved," declared one man. "So, what's the next move boss?" one of the other men piped in. Boss? What do they mean by "Boss"? My mind was moving a million miles per minute, but I managed to find a place to eavesdrop on their conversation. The man who I assumed was their boss, replied, "Our next move? Hmmm..." I don't know what he was contemplating, but I knew that he either didn't want to tell them, or he didn't want to risk being overheard by a cop. "Let's talk about it at The Puncheon," he finally replied.

The other two men with him spoke in unison, "Yes sir!" I could hear the shuffling of their feet moving off from against the side of the building, along the sidewalk. I very quickly did the same, so I wouldn't seem suspicious. I started walking before they did. I was determined to figure out who they were. I came up with a quick plan. I was going to "accidentally" drop my purse in front of them. If this goes the way I plan, they'll notify me that I dropped it, and then I'll make a mental note of their faces. My plan was foolproof. I started taking confident strides towards the men's direction. They were goofing off, talking about some party they had been to recently. As I approached them, and I dropped my purse.

I continued walking a little bit past them, slowing my pace a little, so they would think I didn't notice. I could hear them stop and talk amongst themselves for a moment. Yes! My plan worked! I knew it would anyway, I thought confidently to myself. The men turned around to face my back and yelled, "Miss! You dropped your purse!" They had a bit of an accent. I turned around looking very confused. "Oh? Oh! I'm so sorry! Thank you, sir," I replied with the most flattering smile I could put on. The three men definitely looked like they belonged to Colombo's gang. They were all well-built, their tall and lean bodies nearly bursting out of their suits, which now, much closer, looked to be at least one size too small. Probably on purpose. The middle man looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was a brunette with hair so dark it was almost black, and deep brown eyes. He had a scar on his left cheek, just under his eye. Damn, that must've hurt, I thought. The man to his right looked fairly young, maybe early twenties. He was clean-shaven, with tawny, light brown hair, and emerald green eyes. The man to the left of the scar-faced man had dirty blonde hair, with blue eyes, that held the same coldness as ice. He also looked to be fairly young as well. I looked more closely and saw the brief outline of a gun attached to all of the men's sides.

As I took my change purse back, the man on the left piped up. "I haven't seen you around here before, doll. What's your name?" he said amused. I couldn't risk giving them my actual name. "Elizabeth Walters," I lied. I kept the sweet and innocent act, so the men wouldn't get suspicious. When you're a detective, you have to learn how to lie without making people think you're suspicious. And, that's a skill I've mastered. The man in the middle kept gazing at me weirdly every now and then. What a fucking creep. "Oh, well I'm Ben. The guy beside me is Ward, and then the guy beside him is Richy," he said with a smile on his face. "It's rare to see such a doll like you here," he said, at his best attempt to flirt with me. Then, Ward slapped Ben upside the head. "Stop being such a creep," he said with a stern face.

"Ward, I think you might have a stick up your ass," Ben said while laughing. Ward didn't find that amusing. However, I, as well as Richy, were trying to hold our laughter in. "Sorry about him, he's a hopeless romantic. Anyways, we'll be on our way now," he said while turning around. As Ward and Richy were walking off, Ben smiled at me. Ben reached for my right hand with his and placed a quick kiss on it, "Have a nice rest of your day miss." Ben had to jog to catch up with the other two, since he spent extra time saying his goodbye. I turned back around and reached the bench that Thomas was talking about. Honestly, Queens wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. However, whatever the hell just happened was weird.

I plopped myself onto the metal bench. I flipped up my skirt, so I wouldn't wrinkle it as I sat. As I sat down on the bench, I could feel the cold metal through my skirt. The crisp September air flowed through my red, curled, short hair. I was wondering how long it would take for Thomas to return, as he had promised me earlier.

I looked back to where the three men and I talked for a bit. They were nowhere to be seen. I guess they must've gone back to their car. I made sure to make a mental note of the men's faces.

Thomas was finally walking over towards my direction with the other detective. She was very pretty. Her black wavy hair was pinned up, and her hazel eyes lit up as she was making small talk with Thomas. Anyone could tell that Thomas was practically drooling over her, per usual. As they slowly got closer to where I was sitting, I could hear the woman laughing a little. "Oh stop it Thomas!" she smiled, smacking his arm playfully. Thomas and the other woman finally stopped beside the bench I was seated at. "Anne Campbell, it's nice to meet you," I said while standing up from sitting on the bench. A gust of sharp wind blew past me that caused me to shiver a bit as I went to shake the lady's hand. "Sienna Meadows, it's a pleasure to meet you," she greeted while taking my cold, pale hand in her gloved ones. "I'm looking forward to working with you both," Sienna said, giving Thomas and I a soft smile.

"Well, I guess we should hurry up and join the others at the base," Thomas said, "Or else we might get our asses handed to us by the chief." All of us let out a small laugh and headed off towards the base. As we were walking I was observing the woman. I'd never seen her before. Most of the investigators that accepted, or were brought in, to investigate this case were from Staten Island. I took notice that Sienna had on a very expensive coat that was lined with animal fur. Usually business is slow this time of year, and most detectives only earn about 5 to 7 dollars a week. So how was she able to afford that coat? Maybe it was thrifted? I abruptly stopped. Thomas and Sienna both stopped and looked over at me. "I'll catch up in a second, I need to re-buckle my shoe," I said, trying to come up with an excuse. Thomas nodded, "Don't fall too far behind though, because I'm the only one who knows where this place is." Sienna followed him and continued to stay beside him as she walked.

Tag. Tag. Tag. I just need to find out the brand of coat she's wearing, I thought while scrunching my eyebrows together. I scanned Sienna's coat everywhere for a tag, or something that could tell me the name brand of her coat. I let out a frustrated sigh when I couldn't find anything. I tried to quickly come up with a plan. Ok, just walk up to her and pretend to fix the back of her hair, and swiftly check for the name brand. My thoughts were suspended when Thomas declared, "We're here." The building we arrived at was a very run-down place. It looked as if it had been lit on fire, as dark and dusty as it was. Thomas held the door open for Sienna and me. We both walked into the run-down building and then stepped to the side, unsure of where to go. Thomas came through the door and went up to the wall. "What the hell is this place?" I asked, creeped out. "The base? I thought we went over this," Thomas said confused. Sienna and I both exchanged glances. We were both confused.

Thomas proceeded to fiddle around with the wall a little until he opened a hidden door. "This used to be an old speakeasy, but it was burnt down by the police." That explains it. "The only remains that could be salvaged was this breakroom. No one comes in here though, since no one wants to rebuild it," Thomas said. He walked through the open door. Sienna and I looked at each other for a brief second. "Oh, you can go ahead first," I said politely. Before she could walk through the door though, I stopped her. "Hey, one of your curls came undone. Let me get it for you," I said. As I was fixing her curl, I checked for a name brand. Bingo. Her coat was from Fendi. Holy shit that must've been at least 18 dollars. Where the hell was she getting that money from?

Sienna turned to face me, "I really appreciate it," she thanked me with a soft smile. "Don't worry about it," I replied shaking my hand. We both walked through the door and were met with about 4 other detectives. After we all exchanged pleasantries, I took a seat next to Thomas. Sienna was seated across from me, and the chief was sitting at the head of the table facing everyone. The breakroom was bigger than I thought it would've been. There was a lamp on either side of the room. On the back wall, there was a ripped up leather couch with a small, broken coffee table in front of it. There was a painting that hung on the wall behind the couch. It looked as if it had been scorched as well. The table everyone was seated at was a good size. It was big enough for all of us to sit around, though we we're kind of packed together. The case information was spread on the table.

The faces of the bosses, underbosses, and caporegimes were all scattered on the table. Some of their soldiers' faces were on display too, but there were too many to have everybody's face. I recognized a few of those faces as the men I ran into on the street. They all were a part of the Colombo family, as I had thought. Ward Colombo was the underboss of the Colombo family, while his father, Gary Colombo, was the boss. Richard "Richy" Carter was a caporegime along with Ben Davis. In the Russo family, we were searching for 4 people. Matteo Russo, Frank Gallo, Anthony Caruso, and Don Mitchell. Teo, "Tom" Russo was the boss of the Russo family, Matteo Russo was the underboss, and Alessandro, Monte, and Oscar are all caporegimes.

Everyone was looking through the case files trying to come up with a plan to infiltrate both families, and bring them down. We were discussing everything from assassination plans to planting spies. I looked over at Sienna who looked very uninterested. She was twirling her pencil in between her thumb and pointer finger. Maybe she was assigned this case and didn't want it? The chief investigator started, "Now, let's begin assigning roles. You..." he pointed at Thomas. Thomas heard his name being called and immediately perked up. He was really excited to work on this case. He loves working on exhilarating, adrenaline pumping cases, and this was one of them. I mean, we could easily be caught at anytime. Anyone could eavesdrop, follow us, or murder us at any point in time for investigating the two most powerful mafia families in NYC. The chief investigator continued, "You-" Thomas interrupted, "Thomas, sir. The name's Thomas." The man narrowed his eyes at Thomas in response, "Right then, Thomas, you're going to become a waiter at Ricky's cafe." Thomas looked a bit lost. "Ricky's cafe is an excellent spot to gather intel on both of the mafia families. It's a place where both families agreed to stay neutral. Most of them go there to play cards, drink coffee, and talk about business affairs. Your job is to report back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with any new information you've gathered."

"Sir, shouldn't we just set up meetings on Wednesdays? I feel like if we meet three days a week, we're at higher risk of being caught," I blurted out. The man wrinkled his nose in contemplation. "Hmmm, that's a good idea Campbell. Thanks for the input," he said appreciatively. "Alright everyone, as Campbell suggested, we're going to only meet on Wednesdays. We'll all come to this same place at 7:15 p.m. so we don't risk getting followed, or seen in the daylight," the chief said. "Now you four," he pointed to the other four detectives in the room. They all looked up from the files they were studying, and widened their eyes. "Two of you will monitor the Puncheon Club. Seeing who goes in and out. If you can, try and get in on the inside, and see what type of transactions occur. Then, the other two of you will do the same, but at O'Leary's Casino," the chief stated clearly, making sure they understood. I zoned out for a moment lost in thought, as the chief kept explaining everyone's job in more detail.

"Campbell."

I snapped back to reality when I heard my name piercing through the room. "Campbell, are you paying attention?" the chief asked, annoyed with me. "Yes sir, sorry, I was just thinking," I said apologetically. "Well, listen up. You're going to get into the Colombo family and work as a helper. I've got an undercover cop that I'm paying to give us information. He said that the Colombo family is in need of more help. I can't tell you what kind of help they need though. Do you accept?" the chief asked firmly.

"Of course, it's my job," I said smiling. The chief started talking about the case again. I turned forwards, only to catch Sienna looking at me harshly. What the hell is her problem? I wasn't very trusting of her, to begin with. The way she interacted with Thomas seemed too fake. Almost like it was an act. I reflected back on our walk we were taking to the base earlier. Sienna was almost head to toe in expensive clothing. There's no way a woman in this day and age could've earned that much money to pay for clothes that expensive. I mean, we're lucky we are even able to find jobs.

I suddenly remembered how Sienna mentioned she was a fairly new detective, that's why she was lost trying to find the base. I started to piece the information together. She was wearing very expensive clothing for a detective. She said she was a fairly new detective. If she is new, then how is she able to afford clothing like that? Why was she putting on such a facade while talking to Thomas earlier? "Holy shit," I muttered out loud. Apparently I wasn't as quiet as I thought I had been because everyone turned to my direction. "What? Did you figure something out?" asked one of the detectives eagerly. "No, I was just thinking," I said. Thomas elbowed me as he shook his head, "You and your damn thinking."

"Campbell, stop saying things that you don't want to elaborate on," said the chief in an angry tone. I gave an apologetic look to the intimidating man. I laughed a little at him, it is kind of funny when he's angry. "Meadows," the chief boomed. Sienna's expression suddenly changed from uninterested to attentive. "Yes sir?" she asked. "Your job is to infiltrate the Colombo gang with Anne," he stated. I mentally cursed him. I didn't want to work with someone who I couldn't trust. Sienna looked up at me to see my reaction to the chief's statement. She locked eyes with mine and gave me a big smile. I could sense that there was some sort of evil intent behind her smile.

Just then, I pieced all of the information together. Sienna has expensive clothing because someone else pays for it. There's no way she's able to afford that herself. There are only two possibilities as to who could afford such clothing for her. The Colombo family or the Russo family. This means that she's working for one of them. She's here to gather information on us, so we can be brought down.

She's infiltrated us.

I tried my best to conceal the rage that was burning inside of me. How the hell could we have allowed this?! The meeting soon concluded. I was told that I should meet back with the chief in two days to discuss how I would get into the Colombo family without being suspicious. Thomas, Sienna, and I walked out together. "I'll see you guys next Wednesday!" Sienna said in a very sweet voice. "Yeah, you too," Thomas replied waving, giving her a soft smile. When Sienna parted ways with us she went into a back alleyway. I knew it, she's up to something. "I'm going to take a shortcut. I have to get to my grandmother as soon as possible so she doesn't worry," Sienna rushed. I looked at my wristwatch, 6:45 p.m. It wasn't that late. "Hey Thomas I'll see you tomorrow. I'm going to walk with Sienna since we're both headed the same way," I said quickly, so I wouldn't lose Sienna. "Okay?" Thomas said in a questioning tone. We both waved goodbye to each other before I walked quickly to catch up with Sienna.

"Hey! I recognized the shortcut you were taking. I took it this morning," I lied. She seemed to be a bit suspicious of me, like I had caught on to her little game. I looked around. It was almost dark already. The sun's orange and pink rays were fading in the distance. There were already some stars in the sky as well. I breathed in the crisp, fresh air welcoming it. "Ah, don't you just love the night time? It's so peaceful and pretty. It's honestly when everything comes to life," I said blissfully. "You and me both," Sienna replied through gritted teeth. We continued walking through the alleyway, eventually making it to a sidewalk. I actually had no idea where we were going, but I had my revolver loaded and ready to go just in case a situation presents itself. It was attached to a small, black thigh holster I bought in Manhattan. Thankfully, my long coat covered it up.

I wondered how I should approach Sienna about her suspicious behavior. I don't think I had much time, because we entered another dimly lit alleyway. I looked over at Sienna and could tell she was getting a bit fidgety because she started to play with a loose thread on the end on her glove. "Stop," I said firmly. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face me. Once she met my eyes I could tell she was a little nervous. However, she tried to relax most of her body and harden her gaze, trying to present herself as if she wasn't on the verge of collapsing from nervousness. I observed my surroundings for a moment, trying to see what I was working with. There were rusty, old pipes leaking with water and a trash bin a couple meters farther down the alleyway. It looked to be about half full. There weren't any people nearby, and it was far enough from the street that you probably couldn't hear anything if something were to happen.

Sienna was cornered. I had the upper hand. If she tried running away, she would be met with the cold, wet, hard concrete. I glanced at her for a few more moments before asking, "Who do you work for?" "I don't have to tell you shit," she spat. "Oh, yes you will. I have a gun right here," I pointed to my left upper thigh, "If you don't give me the information I need, I will not hesitate to clip you right between your eyes." I gave her a harsh glare and started to reach for my revolver. Damn, I would've thought she would break by now. I continued to reach for my revolver. I pulled my beige coat to the side revealing the gun holster that held my gun. Before I undid the magnetic strap that secured it in the holster, I looked back up at Sienna. The confident act she tried playing completely dissolved. She was quite literally shaking in her boots.

She refused to say anything frantically shaking her head side to side. "Please don't do this!" she whispered. She couldn't speak higher than a whisper due to the fact she was being held at gunpoint. I undid the strap that secured my revolver in its holster. I slowly raised my gun and aimed for the spot right between her eyes. I haven't killed many people, and I hate doing it, but if my life, or the lives of my colleagues, are threatened, I will not hesitate to kill. And she was doing exactly that, threatening our lives by revealing our plans to infiltrate the Colombo and Russo families. I couldn't let that happen, at any cost.

Sienna's makeup was ruined. Tears were streaming down her face, and they carried her mascara with them. She refused to accept the fact that she was about to die. "Listen, Sienna, I don't want to kill you. Believe me. If you just give me the information I ask for, I'll let you live. You're threatening my life, as well as my colleagues' lives by revealing our plans to whoever you're working for," I said sternly. She looked up at me with her tear-stained face. "Please..." she trailed off. "Please don't kill me," she wept, "I-I have a family, and-and grandmother, and father. They would be so devastated if I died," she choked out. "All you need to do is tell me who you're working for and what they want, then I'll let you go," I replied, my face softening a little. "I work for the Colombo family," she said in between choked sobs. I motioned for her to continue. "They have coppers they pay off so they won't get arrested. The coppers also provide them with information concerning investigations and stuff they might be involved in," she said calming down a little.

"Ok, and why are you working for the Colombo family?" I asked her, confused. "Because, my father received help from them, and didn't follow through with a payment," she said, "They broke into our house. Ready to kill my father, grandmother, and I, until I started to plead for their lives with mine. I asked them to drop my father's debt if I came to work for them, and they accepted my request. I had to pledge my loyalty and body to them. They were allowed to do with me as they pleased, tell me what to do, all of that shit, in exchange for my family's life," she fell to the ground sobbing once again. "P-please, you can't kill me or else my family will get killed as well," she choked. I nodded, "It's either you walk away here right now with the blood of 7 people on your hands, or you die," I said trying to avert her horrified gaze.

"N-no, you promised me you wouldn't kill me!" she screamed, the fear evident in her voice.

"Sorry," is all I could whisper as I released the safety on my revolver.

Bang.

Her body slumped to the ground. She fell on her right side, blood leaking out from the wound, and on to the cold concrete. I quickly put my revolver back in the holster and took her arms. I dragged her body to the trash bin at the end of the alleyway, then took my coat off, and rolled the satin sleeves of my blouse up above my elbows. I tried to dispose of her body without getting blood on my clothes, but failed miserably. After I had thrown her body into the trash bin, I quickly put my coat on and buttoned it so that it would cover my blood stained clothes.

I pulled out a small compact mirror that I carry with me everywhere to check my appearance. Shit my hair. I quickly fixed the loose hairs so I wouldn't catch the attention of anyone. I reapplied some lipstick, since mine had been smudged a little. I took long strides down the alleyway and noticed another small attached alleyway. I hated alleyways, but it was my best bet of not getting caught. I booked it down the small alleyway, and as I was running, all I could smell was liquor and what smelled like bodily fluids. There was a rat coated in some wet substance eating on spoiled, thrown out food. I need to get the hell out of here. I continued walking until I found a way back out to the street.

Once I was back out onto the sidewalk I checked my wristwatch, 7:30 p.m. I quickly went back the way I came with Sienna earlier, until I finally recognized where I was. I continued walking down the sidewalk and then stopped to hail a cab. I was waiting for about 5 minutes until a cab finally took notice of my waving hand. I hopped in the cab out of breath, and tired. Today ended up being a shitty day. I didn't expect to end my day killing someone. It was either her, or me, I reasoned. "Where to ma'am?" the cab driver asked. "Le Grand Balcon Hotel, please," I replied, relieved that I would finally be able to relax once I arrived in my hotel room.


	2. Chapter Two: New Greetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be updating this every week unless something comes up! Enjoy!

The brakes made a harsh screeching sound as the taxi driver slowed down to a stop. The driver finally pulled up to the hotel, after driving for a few minutes, which felt like hours. It didn’t take long to arrive at the hotel, considering the afternoon traffic had already passed through much earlier in the day. Even though the taxi had arrived at my destination, I sat in the backseat for a few more moments, reflecting back on the events from the alley. I had not expected my day to end the way it did. _Holy shit, I really did just kill someone._ It’s not like I hadn’t done it before, but the people who I had killed, deserved it. They were corrupt people who had committed disgusting, unspeakable crimes. But the woman who I had just killed _didn’t_. She had a family, and she had been forced to do the things she did. If she hadn’t, she and her family would’ve been dead by now. 

_“N-no, you promised me you wouldn’t kill me!”_

Her last words rang throughout my mind, along with her screams. I had no choice, I had to kill her. If I let her go, she would’ve reported our plans to her superior. I couldn’t let that information spread to them. The taxi driver cleared his throat. “Are you alright, miss?” he asked, concern evident within his voice. I looked down at my palms noticing that I was digging my fingernails into them. I quickly stopped what I was doing, and looked at the taxi driver for a few seconds before looking away again. “Oh, yeah I’m fine. Just a little stressed out from work is all,” I replied, my voice cracking a little. My throat had gone dry from thinking about what had just happened.

“Ah, that’ll be 50 cents then.” The taxi driver gave me a once over trying to see if I was really fine. I fumbled around for my change purse that was in my coat pocket. I fished out 50 cents and gave it to the driver. A few of the coins fell on the floor due to my shaking hands. “Oh, sorry I’ll get those. Let me ju-” I was cut off by the taxi driver. He looked at me, a worried look etched on his slightly wrinkled face. “It’s ok, miss, get some rest, and don’t over-do it at your job,” he said while picking up the change that I had dropped from the floor. 

I hurriedly got out of the cab while waving to the driver. As he went down the road, I could hear the tires of the cab squeal. I stood outside for a minute, appreciating the fresh, cold, September air. I tried to push aside the thoughts of Sienna's limp body, blood oozing from where the bullet had impacted her skull. _This will haunt me, won’t it?_

It was pitch black outside. With it being overcast today, the clouds covered the moon and the stars, which would usually provide a gorgeous illumination. The street was dimly lit by the tall streetlights that ran along the sides of it. I could faintly see my breath as I exhaled, suggesting that it was at least below 40ºF outside.

I sighed, shaking my head. I was trying minute by minute to remove any lingering thoughts of the events from earlier. I was about to head in, until I heard a man and a woman walking down the sidewalk. “I heard they’re having special deals at the Puncheon tonight,” said the woman with a thick accent. The sound of her heels clicking were becoming closer and closer with every step she took. As they both were approaching, I could start to hear the man’s labored footsteps. “Yeah, and we’ll be sure to take advantage of em’,” he replied to the woman, laughing. I could see them faintly, but the dim streetlamps didn’t provide much help. The man was short and plump, while the woman was tall, lean, and quite thin. 

Once they were finally close enough to see, I observed them, as I always do with everything. The man had on a soft, maroon, velvet suit, while the lady had on the most gorgeous dress I had ever seen. Her beautiful, blue silk evening gown was accompanied by a long, thick fur coat, which was as white as snow. Her dark brown hair was put up into a french roll that was paired with a shiny barrette clip. It was obvious the woman was way younger than the man. Chances are, she was only with him for the money. I mean, it’s not like I can blame her. Who wouldn’t want to be spoiled with expensive gifts, at the small price of being with an older man? They walked past me, still talking about the club they were going to. As the woman walked by me I could smell her floral-scented perfume, which was applied heavily. The couple continued walking down the street together, their arms both intertwined with one another. 

_Damn, I’ve been standing here for a while_. 

I didn’t realize how long I had been standing outside until I felt the sting of cold on my fingertips. I walked up to the hotel entrance and pulled the door open, which with my exhaustion, seemed too heavy. The cold metal of the door handle didn’t feel nice against my extremely sore palms. Upon entering the hotel, the lobby was desolate, since most people were in their rooms, or headed out to nightly social gatherings. I was walking through the lobby, the sound of my heels echoing through the halls of the empty lobby. The only person I noticed was a man sitting in the lounge area reading a newspaper. I quickly darted for the stairs, murmuring under my breath, ” _I need sleep.”_

I probably smelt foul, and I didn’t want anyone to question where I had been, or what I had done. I walked up the steps as quickly as I could, trying not to draw attention to myself. My room was on the third floor, so I had quite a lot of stairs to ascend. Walking up the flights of stairs certainly did not help the already existing ache in my feet. Once I had finally reached my floor, I walked over to my room door. I dug around for my room key in my pocket, finally pulling it out, after a moment of struggling. I inserted the key into the keyhole, and turned it until it clicked. I opened the door, and set my keys on the desk, along with my change purse and other belongings. I sat down on the bed and undid the laces on my heels, practically throwing them off. I sighed in relief, my feet finally free from the tight-fitting shoes. Despite my exhaustion, I was very ready for a bath. 

I took off the rest of my clothes hurriedly, desperate to get into a warm bath. I ran to the bathroom and turned the bathtub’s tap handle to the letter _‘W’_ , which was slightly worn away, so I could get warm water. I discarded the rest of my clothes, slinging my bra and underwear onto the floor of the bathroom. I pulled the drain shut, so none of the water could escape. The bathtub wasn’t full yet, but I still got in anyways. As the tub was filling up, I scooped up some of the water and poured it over my body, trying to get my body used to the temperature of the water. 

The tub eventually filled up, prompting me to turn the tap off. I laid back into the water allowing my muscles to finally relax. I thought I would finally be able to relax, but the images of Sienna overran my thoughts. Her screams, sobs, and pleas for her life were still freshly ingrained into my mind, consuming my thoughts. The way she looked at me right before she died is what really fucked me up. The look in her eyes as she took her last breath conveyed a clear message of pure betrayal. 

I promised I wouldn’t kill her, but I didn’t have any other option. I just couldn’t let her go. If I had, she would have alerted her boss, and I, as well as the other investigators, would be dead right now. I tried to remove the persistent images and horrified screams from my brain, but I couldn’t. I tried praying, dunking myself in under the bathwater, everything, but nothing seemed to be working. 

_I hope that I just forget about this over time_ , I thought to myself. _Everything goes by with time right? I’m sure I’ll be fine in a couple of weeks._ I was hopelessly trying to reassure myself. Trying to make myself forget, even though it was near impossible. I looked over to my right and grabbed the scented bar of soap, along with the white washcloth that I had laid out beside the tub. I began to gently wash my body, removing all of the grime, sweat, dirt, and _blood_. I started with my arms, then moved to my chest, along down to my stomach, and then circled back around to wash my back. 

It felt like my body was thanking me for finally taking a break. I ran the washcloth over my pale, slender legs, and to my feet, finally feeling clean . After I finished washing my body, I took my shampoo and tenderly massaged it into my hair, making sure to thoroughly wash it. 

Once I finished cleaning my entire body, I pulled the drain to the tub, letting the used water escape down the drain. I slowly climbed out the tub, water dripping from my body onto the cold, tiled floor. I grabbed the towel that I had placed on the floor, just slightly away from the tub, and began to dry myself off with it. I finished drying my legs, and took the towel, wrapping it around my hair. I looked around the bathroom for a bit, until I noticed a robe. The change in temperature from the warm water to the cold room made goosebumps appear all over my body. I quickly took the robe and fastened it over my body, so I could adjust to the cold air once more. 

I looked around for the clothes that I had carelessly thrown around earlier. When I found my undergarments, I set them on my bed. I took my coat and hung it over the back of the chair that was seated in front of the desk. I found my blood-stained blouse and skirt, and placed them on the bathroom sink. 

I turned the tap on the sink to _‘C’_ so I could get cold water. I pulled the drain plug on the sink, letting it fill up halfway before turning the water off. I took my blouse and dunked it into the cold water, letting it sit there for a moment, while I went to go find another clean washrag. I opened the small cabinet underneath the sink, and found what I had needed. I took the rag and began to delicately wash out the stains of blood to the best of my ability. I added a little bit of soap too, hoping it would help. The stains finally came out, but I would still need to take my blouse to the nearby laundromat. I repeated the same process on my skirt. 

I hung both pieces of clothing items on the shower curtain drapery. After I was finished, I drained the bloody water from the sink and watched it disappear down the drain. _My sins._

I walked out of the bathroom, into the bedroom, and changed into my silk pajamas. I discarded my towel and robe onto the floor, without caring where they landed. I noticed my bed was made and that my pillows looked fluffed. “Shit, room service must’ve come,” I muttered. I checked under the bed anxiously to make sure everything was still in its place from this morning. I relaxed upon seeing that everything looked exactly the same as it did before I left this morning. I took the undergarments I had laid on my bed, and placed them on the desk chair. 

I hopped into the bed, sinking into the mattress. I smiled a little, feeling slightly relieved. _God, this bed feels like heaven_. It wasn’t long after I had laid down and closed my eyes, that I drifted off to a calm sleep.

________________________________

I woke up to the sound of ringing from the alarm clock I had set the night before. I fumbled, around, tiredly trying to find the snooze button so I could go back to sleep. I could barely see anything through the tired haze filling my eyes. “Shut up!” I yelled at the alarm, annoyed I couldn’t find the snooze button. After a couple more seconds of the annoying ringing sound, my fingers finally found the snooze button. I pressed the button down and slammed the alarm clock on the bedside table. I pulled the light blue duvet over my head trying to drown out the early morning traffic noises that were coming from outside. 

The sounds of horns being blown in anger, tires screeching, and brakes squealing would not subside, as much as I wanted them to. My blanket was doing a horrible job at trying to stop the sounds of traffic from entering my ears. I tried to go back to sleep, burying my head within the soft, fluffy pillow underneath my head. After many unsuccessful attempts, I tried putting another pillow over my ears, hoping it would muffle the sounds, even just by a tiny bit. 

“Ugh, nothing is working!” I groaned, discarding the pillows on the floor. 

“You hate me, God, don’t you?” I said while looking up at the ceiling, as if he was actually listening. I rolled my eyes and flopped back down onto the bed, my body heavily opposing the idea of leaving the mattress. I looked over towards the alarm clock I had slammed onto the bedside table earlier. _5:30 a.m._ It was still pretty early in the morning, and I wasn’t working today, but I still had a few things to do. I had to visit Thomas, do laundry, and research extra details on the case. 

I sat up in the bed, rubbing my eyes so that I could remove all of the excess build-up that formed itself in the corners overnight. I looked outside of the window in my hotel room. It was fairly big, providing a beautiful view of the sun peaking over the tall buildings, trying to climb through the sky. The gorgeous orange, yellow, and pink hues slowly illuminating the outside. Sunrises are probably one of my favorite things. Sunsets were beautiful too, but the peacefulness that’s provided from a sunrise will never be matched. Being able to look at the different colors all mesh together throughout the sky, like some kind of painting you would see in a museum fills me with such serenity, that no feeling could ever compare to. _The feeling of a new day._

Eventually, I sat my feet onto the hardwood floor and stood up, stretching my arms and legs. I walked over to the bathroom, letting out a yawn. I went to relieve my bladder and wash my hands. After I had taken care of that, I began to brush my teeth, the minty taste from the toothpaste waking me up a little. I spat out the remaining toothpaste in my mouth, and headed towards the small closet that was situated next to the changing area. I looked through the small selection of outfits I had, since this hotel was a temporary living arrangement. I opted for a sage green dress that I had recently bought a few weeks before coming to the Queens. 

I changed out of my cotton pajamas, slipping my top off first and then my bottoms. I folded my pajamas into a neat stack, placing the top on the bottoms. I put on a fresh pair of undergarments first, and then slipped the dress, I had chosen for the day, over my head. I adjusted the dress a little, smoothing out any small wrinkles that had formed. I walked back into the bathroom. Luckily, my hair was naturally wavy, so I didn’t have to worry about putting anything in my hair at night. I applied some hair serum to my hands and smoothed my locks down a little, so it wouldn’t look like I had just woken up. 

I wasn’t going to do heavy makeup today, so I decided to just apply a little blush and some red lipstick in the shade “Rose”. Red lipstick was very popular right now. Anywhere you went, you would always see at least 5 different women wearing some sort of a red shade of lipstick.

I walked out of the bathroom and headed over to the desk that sat in front of the bed. I picked up my wristwatch and clipped it on. I took a few steps and stood in front of the mirror that was placed against the wall, in between the changing area and desk. I proceeded to clasp on a necklace that was gifted to me by my mother. It was a beautiful silver necklace with a small, red garnet placed in the middle. Then, I put on a small pearl bracelet gifted to me by my grandmother. Most of the jewelry I owned was given to me by family members, since they all believed that jewelry should be passed down through generations.

Once I finally finished getting ready, I grabbed my small handbag that was a muted pink color. I put my change purse into it and clipped it up, securing my belongings. I grabbed my room key, about to walk out of the room, until I realized I forgot my heels. _How could I forget something important like that?_ My mind was still jumbled from last night, and I was still half asleep. I ran around the room looking for the heels I recklessly threw around last night.

I ended up finding one under the bed and one under the desk. I put my beige Oxfords on, slipping the almost too tight heels over each of my feet. I checked to make sure I had everything. _Change purse? Yes. Handbag? Yup. Room key? Check._ I was _finally_ able to head out of my room. 

I opened my door, and shut it quietly, just in case anyone was still asleep. I turned around and inserted my key into the keyhole to lock it shut. Once I heard the door lock, I took the key and put it into my handbag. I headed towards the staircase, the carpet silencing the clacking of my heels. I walked down the stairs at a normal pace, since I wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere. I looked at my wristwatch just to reassure myself that I was on time. 6:20 a.m. Perfect. 

I decided that today, I was going to head over to Ricky’s Coffee Shop for breakfast this morning. I’ve heard a lot of locals talk highly of the small shop’s food, and signature coffee blend. Many people have also mentioned that the owner is a calm and earnest man. They say that he deserves every penny that he earns. I was curious, and I had to find out if this place is as great as everyone says it is. 

I reached the end of the stairwell, and entered the lobby once more. The same man who I saw in the lounge area last night was there this morning as well. He was reading a book by Radclyffe Hall named “Well of Loneliness”. I’d never seen that book before. I wonder if it’s interesting or not? I was suspicious that one of the families may have caught on to our operation, but the man didn’t seem interested in me, so he probably wasn’t anyone from the mafia. I continued to walk through the lobby. I noticed the same woman I had bumped into yesterday. She also seemed to notice me walking by and scoffed. _What a fucking bitch._ I gave her a quick look, wanting to hit her, but I chose not to. I pushed the door open, the warm heat from the building turning into the cold morning air. 

I hailed for a cab and next thing you know, I’m on my way to Ricky’s Coffee Shop.

______________________________

I pulled the door handle towards me, opening the taxi door. I felt a gush of wind pass by me, blowing my hair directly into my face. I stepped out of the cab, my heels making contact with the sidewalk. I pushed my hair out of my face and handed the taxi driver the money he asked for. “Thank you,” I said, smiling at him with my pearly whites. I turned around and walked towards the small brick building known as “Ricky’s Coffee Shop”. There was a small chalkboard sign situated outside of the entrance that had a list of today’s specials on it. I read over it for a moment, until I noticed there was a discount for anyone who bought a cup of coffee between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. _Perfect. It was 6:32 a.m._ The drive to the coffee shop didn’t take long, since it wasn’t that far from the hotel I was staying at. 

I entered the cafe, the aroma of freshly made coffee filling my senses. I stood in the entry way for a moment, taking in the charming little coffee shop. It was smaller than I had expected, but the smaller shops always feel more cozy than the larger shops. There were two rows of small round tables, not far from the entrance. They ran vertically, all neatly lined up together. Towards the back of the shop, there was a coffee bar, with 5 tall stools in front of it. On the walls there were pictures of many different places from around the world. The shop had a very homey feeling to it, since there were various different knick knacks placed on shelves that lined the walls. The place was probably family owned. 

Strangely enough, there wasn’t a single soul in the coffee shop, besides the employees. 

_Maybe most people had gotten their coffee already?_ I wondered.

I walked over to the bar and sat down on one of the stools, the leather cushions feeling very pleasant to the touch. The coffee shop had obviously been in business for a while, since a lot of the furniture was very lavish. The tables and chairs looked like they were made of walnut wood, which was very hard to come by. The bottom half of the coffee bar was made from the same wood as the tables and chairs, while the counter was made out of gorgeous granite. I had never seen something this luxurious in my entire life.

Growing up my family wasn’t very rich. We had enough money to cover all of our basic necessities like food, water, and bills. Most of my clothes were handmade from old clothes that my grandmother had. My mother worked as a part-time maid for a wealthy family, and my father worked as a police officer. They both worked their asses off trying to provide a comfortable life for me. Whenever my mom would get paid a little extra, we would go out together and treat ourselves to some candy. Since we couldn’t afford to buy extra things like candy, it was a real treat when we could go get some chocolate together. 

Once I turned 19, I was determined to work as an investigator. I was inspired by my father, since he used to be a police officer. He had gotten injured on the job and was forced to retire, so I was driven to find a job quickly so I could return the favor, and provide a comfortable lifestyle for him and my mother. And now here I am, 22 years old, sitting in a coffee shop located in the Queens, investigating a case that the two most prominent mafia families were involved in. 

I heard someone walk out from the door that was behind the bar counter. “Ricky we have a customer!” shouted a woman towards the back of the breakroom. The woman turned to face me. She was absolutely breathtaking. _I guess it was a common thing around here, where everyone was flawless anywhere you went._ She had flawless dark skin, and the prettiest hair that I’d ever seen. Her hair was about shoulder length, and she had tight curls that would bounce around every time she moved her head. Her lips curled into a soft smile. “Good Morning! Welcome to Ricky’s Coffee Shop. I’m Rhana, it’s nice to meet you!” 

I heard the shuffling feet of another person coming from the break room. “That’s Ricardo, but he goes by Ricky for short. He owns this joint,” Rhana said while jabbing her thumb back towards Ricardo. I nodded. Ricky reached forward for my hand, gesturing for a hand shake. I took his right hand with mine and gave it a firm shake. “As you’ve already heard,” Ricky said while eyeing Rhana, “I’m Ricky. I was going to introduce myself, but that one over there,” Ricky pointed at Rhana while she was laughing, “ruined my introduction.” 

“I’m Lillianne, but I go by Anne. It’s nice to meet you both,” I said trying to hold back a laugh. Ricky was so offended that he didn’t get to properly introduce himself, and it was hilarious. Rhana and Ricky were going back and forth about how it was impolite for her to introduce him. Even though it really wasn’t, he probably had his own way to go about things. After hearing Rhana laughing her ass off while apologizing, and Ricky yelling at her in a foreign language that I didn’t understand, Rhana finally came up to me.

“I’m so sorry about that. He hates it when I introduce him to other people, since he always wants to be the one to make the first impression. It’s very important to him, if you couldn’t tell by his obnoxious yelling,” Rhana said, making sure Ricky could hear the last part clearly. He scoffed at her in response, and she gave him a big smile. 

“So, what can I get you to drink?” she asked. “I’ll have the special,” I replied smiling. Rhana looked at me intrigued, “Oh so you want Ricky’s special blend?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows. “That’s fine!” I said. 

“Ricky! Get your old, wrinkly ass over here,” Rhana said yelling at Ricky. 

“He can’t really hear anything from far away, that’s why I have to yell so much. I hope you don’t mind. If it gets irritating let me know.” Rhana said with an apologetic look on her face. I looked up at her, “I don’t mind, I work in a field full of men, so I’ve gotten used to it,” I said dismissing her apology politely. “Whad’ya do for a living?” she asked, her eyes lighting up with interest. “I’m an investigator,” I said casually. 

“Holy shit, that’s sweet!” Rhana said walking over towards the stool beside me. Ricky made his way to the bar and immediately started to make my coffee. “Hey Ricky, could ya’ whip me up a latte too, please? You can take it out of this week’s pay.” Rhana said. “You work here, consider this one free,” Ricky said while focusing on making my coffee. Rhana smiled, “Thanks Ricky, you’re really a swell guy.”

Rhana shifted in her seat so she could face me. “So, how long have ya’ been working as an investigator?” “About 3 years,” I shrugged. “Wow, that’s a pretty long time.” she said, flattening out her stained apron with her hands. “I’ve been working for Ricky for about 5 years now. I started working here when I was 16, and I’m 21 now,” she said smiling, “He puts up with a lot of my bullshit. He’s good friends with my mom, who owns the bakery down the street.”

“Holy shit, you’re mom is Jina?” I said, trying to keep my voice from going into a yell. “Yup,” Rhana said, popping the ‘p’. “Her stuff tastes like heaven itself,” I said remembering the sweet taste of the coffee cake I had, “Her coffee cake especially.” Rhana looked at me with the biggest grin on her face, “Yep, that’s my mom right there,” she said proudly. I laughed in response.

Rhana and I hadn’t known each other for long, but she had the most inviting personality. She took a lot after her mom. She had the same nose and smile that would make the sun shine brighter. 

“Here’s your coffee ladies, enjoy,” Ricky said smiling softly, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes crinkling a bit as he did.

Ricky was a shorter man in his early 60s. He had a tan, caramel complexion with dark brown eyes. He was bald and had a trimmed beard. From the encounters I’ve had with him so far, he seems very charismatic and humble. I finally understood why people liked him so much. It was because he was easy to get along with and just likeable in general.

I looked down at the dainty coffee cup that was just placed in front of me. There was still some steam coming off of it, indicating that it was still hot. I picked the mug up, blowing on the coffee a little, so it would cool down. I brought the warm cup up to my lips and took a sip. The warm liquid going down my throat. I closed my eyes savoring the flavor. This was probably the best coffee I’d ever had. It wasn’t too strong and it wasn’t too bland, it was literally perfect. 

I set the coffee mug back down on the counter, my lipstick leaving a mark around the edge of the mug where I had previously taken a sip. I sighed with satisfaction. Rhana looked over at me amused, “His special blend is pretty good, huh?” she asked. “Yes, it’s the embodiment of the word ‘perfect’,” I said while taking another sip. She laughed at my response.

We sat in a comfortable silence together, while drinking our cups of coffee. 

“I haven’t seen you around here before. Where are you from?” Rhana asked breaking the silence. I was still cautious about opening up to people around here, especially since I didn’t know who was working for or siding with one of the families, but I felt like I could trust Rhana. In the short amount of time we’ve known each other, I felt like I’ve known her my entire life. 

“I’m from Staten Island, but had to come here for an investigation,” I said, taking a sip of coffee.

Her eyes lit up immediately, “Oh, Staten Island is pretty far away from here,” she said pausing for a moment, “So, what are you investigating?” she asked enthusiastically. I sat my coffee cup back down, giving Rhana an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, I can’t really say.” Rhana shook her head at me, “Oh no, it’s quite alright. I wasn’t really expecting an answer anyways,” she said finishing her coffee. Once she sat her cup back onto the counter, she looked over towards me. “Wanna walk over to my mom’s bakery and grab a bite for breakfast?” 

I finished the remaining coffee that was still in my cup. “Sure, that’s a swell idea!” Ricky walked back over behind the counter. “Are you ladies all finished?” he asked, flashing us a grin. “Yes, we’re finished,” I smiled at him, “Also, whatever you put into your special blend of coffee, tastes amazing.” I opened up my change purse and placed a dime on the counter to pay for my drink and then a nickel as a tip. Rhana started to untie the back of her apron, removing it. 

“I’ll be right back. I just need to go get a few things from my locker in the breakroom,” she declared, her voice trailing off as she made her way into the breakroom. I sat back down onto the leather stool, putting my elbows onto the counter. I rested my chin in my hands, sighing contently. I smiled to myself knowing I had made a friend, and an acquaintance. 

My head snapped over towards the door when I heard the sound of the bell ring. I scanned over the man who had just entered. He looked very familiar. His tight fitting suit, muscular build…. 

_Wait a second, that's Ward Colombo._

Ricky immediately went over to greet him “Ah, Ward welcome. What can I get you?” Ward stood there looking like he was debating on what to get. “I’ll have your special today,” Ward replied, giving him a soft smile. He started walking towards the direction of the bar. _God please, I know you hate me right now, but I’m begging you please don’t let this man sit next to me._

Ward made his way past the tables, making it obvious that he was going to sit at the bar. 

He ended up sitting a stool down from me. I tensed a little as he made himself comfortable, taking his hat off and placing it onto the counter. He ran a hand through his dark hair, tidying it up a little. I pretended to be engrossed in thought, looking at one of the knick knacks Ricky had lined up on a shelf on the wall in front of the bar. I could see Ward glancing at me from the corner of my eye. 

Ricky began making Ward’s coffee that he had requested earlier, opening up containers of coffee grounds to make his special blend. Ward cleared his throat, “You look familiar. Didn’t I see you yesterday?” he asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

I looked over towards him taking in his appearance. I really wanted to say, “ _Yeah you were one of those creeps checking out women,”_ but I chose not to. “Yes, I dropped my change purse yesterday and one of your men kindly gave it back to me,” I said, remembering our encounter. “Ah, yes. Elizabeth Walters, right?” he asked, looking straight into my eyes. _Jesus, this man had a cold, intense look in his eyes. It honestly was kind of scary._ I blinked a few times, fluttering my long eyelashes. “Yes, you are correct,” I smiled. He didn’t return it however.

“You said you were from the Bronx?” he asked watching as Ricky carefully made his coffee. “Manhattan,” I said, correcting him. He hummed in response. “So, what are you doing here-” Ward was cut off by Rhana. “Anne! C’mon let’s go! I’ve got everything now,” she said walking through the door. Ward looked over at me puzzled. Rhana’s smile faded when she noticed Ward sitting at the counter. “Oh, Ward, didn’t expect to see you here this morning,” she said dully. Ward returned her unexcited attitude, “Oh well, ya’ know, just wanted a cup of coffee to start off my day, like any _normal_ person,” he said, giving Rhana a forced smile. 

“Anne, let’s go.” Rhana said taking my hand, dragging me off of the leather stool. “You mean Elizabeth, right?” I said, raising my eyebrows a little. Ward was unable to see my facial expressions, so he couldn’t see me acting suspicious. Rhana caught on immediately, “Oh, shit, sorry Liz. It’s been a rough morning. You look just like someone I know who’s named Anne,” she said, trying to sound as sincere as possible so Ward wouldn’t become suspicious. 

Rhana and I quickly exited the coffee shop, so Ward couldn’t try and ask questions. As soon as I was sure we were a far distance away from the shop, I looked over towards Rhana. She was dying to know why I had asked her to call me Elizabeth. “How about we talk about it over breakfast?” I asked, looking at her. She nodded and started to quicken her pace. I did the same. We were both itching to know what had happened. I was especially intrigued by the interaction Rhana and Ward had. _Why did Rhana react to Ward’s presence so unwelcoming? Why did Ward act the same way? What kind of history do these two have? And especially, why would she talk to an underboss like that?_

We eventually reached Jina’s bakery. When we entered the bakery, Rhana was instantly embraced by her mom. “Rhana! You promised you would come by more often! You had me worried,” she exclaimed, scolding her, “But I’m glad to see you again,” she said squeezing her tighter. “Mom, it’s only been 3 days since I last saw you, stop being dramatic,” Rhana said, lighting smacking her mom’s arm with the back of her hand. “Besides, I made a new friend, Anne,” Rhana smiled, looking over at me.

“Yes! Anne, we met yesterday. She came in with a handsome young gentleman,” Jina said coming over to greet me with a hug. Rhana looked at me with her eyebrows raised, then back over towards her mom, “Can we have some of your famous pancakes for breakfast?” she asked. “Of course, I’ll get that started for y’all right away,” Jina said walking off towards the kitchen.

Rhana and I went over to sit towards the back, so we could talk in a little bit of privacy. As soon as Rhana sat down on the side opposite to me, she asked, “So what was the deal with the “My name’s Elizabeth” situation? Is your name actually Elizabeth? Are you really from Staten Island?” Rhana started flooding me with questions. 

I looked at her trying to figure out where to start. “Ok so, to answer your questions…” I trailed off, “Let’s just start with the basics. Yes, I am actually from Staten Island, and my name is Lillianne but I go by Anne.” Rhana sighed, delighted to know that I didn’t lie to her. “To answer your question about what had happened earlier, it has to do with my job,” I started to rub my temples, having an internal debate on whether I should go on. I felt like I could trust Rhana so I decided to continue, “As you know, I work as an investigator. I was sent here to investigate the shootout that had happened between the Colombo and Russo families.” 

I could smell the scent of something freshly made. I heard Jina’s heels click against the tile flooring, the sound of them getting closer with every step. She eventually stopped in front of our booth and sat our plates of pancakes down. There were 3 pancakes on each of our plates with a square of butter on top. She placed a cruet with maple syrup in it on the table as well. “Here ya’ go sweethearts, enjoy!” she said, giving us her priceless smile. She walked off to another booth attending to other customers.

I took a bite of my pancakes, and Rhana did the same. She placed her fork down onto her plate, looking at me. “Would you mind continuing, I would really like to hear the rest of your story,” Rhana said, giving me a genuine smile. I reached for the glass cruet of syrup popping open the top. “Sure, I’d love to,” I said while pouring syrup onto my pancakes. “Did you want any?” I asked, pointing to the cruet. “No, I’m fine.”

Once I secured the top back on the cruet, I carried on with my story. “So as I was saying, I came here to investigate the shootout that took place, blah, blah. I was out with my coworker, Thomas, yesterday for lunch. We were walking towards our meeting place, when he had found another investigator that was apparently working on the same case as us. He went to go get her, and told me to wait at a bench that was down the block. Well, it so happened to be that Ward and two of his men were talking, right in the direction that I had to walk in.” I took another bite out of my pancake, the soft feel and the sweet taste provided from the syrup, all combining into my mouth.

Rhana had finished her first pancake, and took a sip of orange juice. I didn’t even notice Jina had brought drinks, as my mind was absorbed with flashbacks from yesterday. I reached for the glass of water that was situated to the left of my plate. I took a sip, welcoming the cold water that slid down my throat. “Anyways, they were talking about something that had the potential to be important to our case, so I eavesdropped on them. After eavesdropping on them for a couple of minutes, they were about to leave but I was determined to memorize their faces, and maybe learn a few more things about them,” I swallowed the last bite of my second pancake and looked over to see Rhana had already finished hers. 

She gestured for me to continue, so I did. I told her about everything, from how I met Ward, Ben, and Richy, and how Richy had returned my change purse that I had “dropped”. I stopped for a moment not wanting to share what I had done to Sienna. I didn’t want Rhana to see me any differently. I exhaled and leaned back into the seat forming a distressed look on my face. Rhana took notice and spoke, “It’s ok, whatever you have to say next, I’ll be able to handle it. I mean for God’s sake I work in a coffee shop that has mafia members coming in and out of it all the time,” she laughed, trying to calm me down a little.

I looked at her and smiled. She genuinely cared about what I had to say and for that I was thankful. “After that, Thomas, Sienna, and I went to go meet with the other investigators who were working on the case with us too.” Rhana interrupted for a moment, “Sorry, who’s Sienna? I don’t think you mentioned her earlier,” Rhana said quickly, so I could continue on with my story.

“Oh, sorry, Sienna was the other “investigator” working on the case with us,” I said. I went on to tell Rhana how I had to kill Sienna, in great detail. I explained to her how I had no other choice but to kill Sienna, since she was a threat to my life as well as my coworkers’ lives. 

After I had finished telling her my experience, Rhana took my hand in hers, “Anne I believe that what you did was right. Instead of looking at the situation and thinking you ‘‘killed’’ someone, you actually saved a bunch of people,” Rhana said.

Her words removed some of the weight off of my chest. It felt great to know I had someone to talk to about everything. The weight I was carrying from killing Sienna had started to take a toll, but Rhana was the one to be able to slowly take some of that weight off. “Thank you for listening, I don’t really have anyone down here to talk to, and just now, you’ve helped me through so much by just listening. Really, thank you,” I said, giving her a heartfelt smile. She patted my hand that she had taken in hers. “Of course, that’s what friends are for,” Rhana said, giggling a little to try and lighten up the situation.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, as I was finishing my pancakes. I looked out of the window to see mothers, with their babies in strollers, on their morning strolls. Men on their way to work, and newsboys already advertising the daily news. I stabbed the last bite of my pancake that was still on my plate, and brought the pancake-filled fork up to my lips, engulfing it into my mouth. I swallowed it, washing it down with some water.

I wiped the corners of my mouth with a napkin and looked up at Rhana. She was resting her face on her hands also taking in the busy streets of the Queens. I cleared my throat, “So, I guess it’s your turn to explain what happened between you and Ward,” I said, giving Rhana a soft smile. She nodded, starting her explanation. “Well, a couple months ago, in May, Ward stormed into the coffee shop with his men looking for some of Matteo’s men. It so happened that they came in at the right time because Matteo and his men were in the coffee shop. Apparently something had happened between the two and Ward was out for blood, so the shop turned into a wrestling ring. There were men punching men, kicking faces in, everything,” Rhana said. She continued to explain into detail about everything that happened. “I ended up having to get my revolver, that I always have with me in the back, and shooting it into the air to grab everyone’s attention. I eventually called the cops on everyone, knowing that it would make them scatter,” her nose crinkled into a disgusted look before she continued.

“The cops ended up arriving. I guess Ward got what he wanted because two of Matteo’s men died. Their faces got bashed in. After the two dead men were taken out, the shop was a mess. Chairs broken, coffee stuff everywhere, everything was wrecked. Luckily, Ricky had insurance on everything, and had _most_ of the damages covered,” Rhana’s knuckles were turning white from where she had balled her hands into fists. 

“We ended up fixing everything a couple weeks ago, so that’s why everything looks brand new in the shop,” she said leaning back into her seat sighing. “I forced Matteo and Ward to agree that they wouldn’t ever fight, trash, or do anything violent in or around Ricky’s cafe,” she started to smile a little, “You’re probably thinking how I made them agree right?” I looked at her and nodded. “I had to give 'em a few punches. I guess they’re not used to being punched by women,” she said, laughing now. 

The mood had lightened a bit after we both shared our stories. Sometimes it’s therapeutic to talk to someone else who understands you. I looked at Rhana, my eyes lighting up, “Rhana?” Rhana looked up at me, “Hm?” she hummed. “This might sound weird, but I feel like I’ve known you for years,” I said bursting out with laughter. “You know, I was actually thinking the exact same thing,” she said laughing along with me.

After our laughing subsided, Rhana spoke, “Hey, you know what would be good for us?” Rhana said getting giddy. I gave her an intrigued look. “We should go to O’Leary’s Casino tonight. I think it’ll be a great way to forget about our problems temporarily!” she exclaimed. I frowned a little, “But I don’t have any money to gamble with.” 

Rhana looked at me and laughed, “Don’t worry, I know the guy who owns it. There’s a back to the casino where only a select few people can enter, and I happen to be one of them,” she said, boasting a bit, “Also, I think the guy who owns it will like you,” she said giving me a wink. 

“Is he a creep or something?” I asked. 

“Oh no, far from it. He’s actually a really nice man, but sometimes he can be arrogant,” she said.

We both talked for a while until I noticed the time.“Well, I should probably go now. I’ve got some things to do, and you probably have to get back to work anyways,” I said while standing up. I noticed that I didn’t have my purse. 

“Fuck. Shit! Rhana have you seen my purse?” I asked in a panic. She started to look around for it too. “You must’ve left it at the coffee shop. I can go back and get it for you, if you want,” Rhana proposed. 

I waved a hand at her, dismissing her proposal politely, “It’s fine, I have plenty of time.” Rhana got up from the table as well, grabbing her things. “My mom has our food covered. So don’t worry about paying,” Rhana said putting her jacket on.

“Anyways, I’ve got to go and pick some things up for Ricky, but meet me at the shop around 7 tonight,” Rhana said, coming over to give me a hug. I wrapped my arms around her and she did the same. “I’ll see you tonight!” she said walking over towards the door, “Oh! I almost forgot, wear something pretty!” she said, winking at me.

She left the bakery and headed towards the local shopping centre. I walked towards the door as well, thanking Jina for the food as I left. I wrapped my coat around myself, folding my arms together. Today was probably the coldest day this week. I could see my breath as I exhaled through my quivering lips. I was walking in the direction of Ricky's coffee shop to retrieve my purse that I had left. I had been walking for a few minutes when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I stopped for a second wondering if I should just ignore it, or turn around to see who had tapped me. 

I turned around after debating for a moment, and was met with the same man who had a scar under his left eye. “Ward?” I asked, surprised, with wide eyes. He looked down at me with his dark brown eyes. He leaned down to my ear, his hot breath hitting the top of it, sending shivers down my spine. 

“So, what’s with you and forgetting your purse, huh?” he asked, the corners of his lips slightly tugging upwards into a smirk. He lifted his head back up from me, and took my purse, securing it on my shoulder. 

He caught a glimpse of me again before speaking again. “Try not to keep losing your purse, or a _criminal_ could steal it,” he said before walking past me. I stood frozen for a second, taken aback by the encounter Ward and I had just had. 

_Why was he acting like that? We haven’t even talked to each other but 2 times, not counting the encounter we had a few seconds ago._

I shook off my thoughts, and carried on with my day. I returned to my hotel, and took my dirty clothes to the local laundromat. After that, I had lunch with Thomas. We ate at a restaurant named Ruth’s Diner. While we were eating, we talked about yesterday, but mostly just had small talk about our day so far. I tried to avoid the subject of Sienna. 

The only person I had told so far was Rhana, and I didn’t want to tell Thomas because I knew he had grown fond of Sienna in the short amount of time he had known her. The only other person I was planning to tell was the chief investigator, because at some point he would find out anyways. I knew that he would understand, since he’s been working for over 15 years, and has probably had a similar experience.

After Thomas and I finished our lunch together, I headed back to the hotel and decided to pass some time by looking over some case files.

I flung my heels off by the door, and set my belongings down on an extra chair that was seated in the corner of the room. I made sure my room door was securely locked before pulling the pale, yellow-colored folders out from under the bed. Once I had finished doing that I decided to look over the Russo family’s information since I hadn’t yet. I opened the folder with a big red stamp on it that read “Classified” in all caps. I laid out the photos of the main members looking over each one carefully. 

The boss of the Russo family is Tom, or Teo, Russo. He is on the plumper side. He is 52 years old and has 3 kids. Frances, Irene, and Matteo Russo. He was previously married to Isabella Lombardi, but got divorced due to “losing interest in each other”. There isn’t really much information on Frances and Irene, other than the fact that they’re both Tom and Isabella’s children.

Isabella’s loyalty still lies with the Russo family despite her divorce with Tom. She still works for them as a messenger, but other than that, she really doesn’t play any part. Moving on to Matteo, he is the underboss of the Russo family. He’s meant to become the boss, in the event that his father dies or becomes gravely ill. Matteo owns O’Leary’s Casino. The Russo family has the caporegimes who are Frank Gallo, Anthony Caruso, and Don Mitchell. All 3 of these men are said to be with Matteo 24/7 unless they’re off on a business errand. 

I continued to review and look over the case files, passing by the time until I had to get ready. After a couple of hours looking through the files, I looked at my wrist watch. _4:45 p.m._ I got up from my chair, stretching my arms and legs and sighed with satisfaction. Sitting on a hard wooden chair got uncomfortable after a while, so standing up and stretching felt wonderful.

  
_Now, it’s time to get ready..._


	3. Chapter Three: O'Leary's Casino

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so a few things before the story.
> 
> 1\. I'm trying to incorporate some 1930's slang into the story, so later in the chapter, I'll have the words lincoln and sawbuck. Lincoln is slang for a 5 dollar bill, and a sawbuck is slang for a 10 dollar bill. 
> 
> 2\. In case anyone wanted to know, here's how you total points in blackjack: Aces are worth 1 or 11 points, it's up to the player. Cards numbered 1-10 are their regular value, and face cards (Kings, Queens, or Jacks) are worth 10 points. The goal is to get 21 points, or close enough to it, but if you go over 21 you lose. 
> 
> 3\. Also, I may or may not have another chapter up next week, but I'm not sure yet, it all depends on my schedule. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy chapter three :)

I grabbed the towel and the robe I had used the night before and walked into the bathroom. I closed the shower curtain and turned the tap handle to the left, letting the water warm up. Instead of taking a bath, I chose to take a shower, since it was the faster option. While I was letting the water warm up, I took a washrag from the cabinet underneath the sink and sat it on the edge of the bathtub.

I extended my hand into the shower to see if the water had warmed up yet. My hand made contact with the running water, and it felt warm enough. I stripped myself of my clothes and stepped into the shower, welcoming the warm water that was starting to cascade down my body. I couldn’t stay in the shower for long, though, because I wanted to have enough time to get ready. I quickly grabbed the shampoo and lathered it into my now wet, ginger waves. After making sure I had thoroughly shampooed my hair, I tilted my head back, letting the water from the showerhead wash out the shampoo.

Once the shampoo was rinsed out of my hair, I rapidly washed my body. I made sure to get every inch of skin and into every crevice of my body, ensuring that I would smell pleasant.

I turned the tap off and placed my used washcloth onto a rack that was built into the shower. I pushed the shower curtain to the left, opening it up, so I could step outside of the shower.

I stepped out of the shower, the water from the ends of my hair trickling down my body. I took the towel I had placed outside of the shower earlier and began to dry my hair, trying to remove most of the moisture. I then moved down my body, beginning with my arms, going all the way down to my feet, removing every last droplet of water.

I put on the robe I used last night and made sure to tie it securely around my waist before walking over towards the sink. Then I peeked out of the bathroom door to check the time. _5:15._

_Okay, that gives me about an hour to get ready._

I searched through the sink cabinet hoping to find a hairdryer. 

After digging through random clutter of brushes and utensils that were underneath the sink, I finally found what I had been looking for. I pulled out a small, metal hairdryer and plugged it into the outlet that was on the wall near the sink.

I turned the hairdryer on, the loud noise startling me a bit. I grabbed my hairbrush and began to brush my hair while drying it to keep it from becoming frizzy and tangled.

After some time, most of my hair was dry. I turned off the hairdryer and decided to let the rest of my damp strands of hair air dry.

I put the hairdryer back into its place and walked into the main area. I was still good on time, with it being 5:30. I glanced outside of the window and saw the sun starting to set over the tall buildings, casting their shadows.

I crouched down to reach for one of my suitcases that were stored under the bed and pulled out one of the brown leather suitcases by its cushioned handle. I had made sure to pack a suitcase full of evening wear just in case a situation as such presented itself.

I unbuckled the suitcase, opening it.

I had packed a stunning deep jade green dress that was made of a shiny silk material. The back of the dress was open, with only two straps that crossed over each other, forming an _‘X’_ shape. The front of the dress was a _‘V’_ cut revealing just enough to keep a man wondering what was underneath. The dress was form-fitting around the waist but loosened up a little at the hips, allowing it to flow freely, ending at the ankle.

I unfolded the dress with ease, the silk material feeling wonderful to the touch. Luckily, the dress had minimal wrinkles. I exhaled with relief, glad to know it was wearable since this was the only dress I had brought with me.

I pulled out a few more accessories. I had a pair of white silk gloves as well, which would pair with the dress nicely. I had also brought a pair of diamond studs that my grandmother had gifted to me a while ago.

I laid out my outfit, along with the accessories I planned on wearing later tonight. I closed the suitcase back, buckling the straps, and slid the suitcase back under the bed, only to pull out a different one.

I remembered I had also packed another pair of heels, along with a coat that was both far fancier than the ones I had right now. I didn’t actually think I would have to wear these, but I always try to be prepared for any type of situation.

I pulled the pair of heels out and set them on the floor, doing the same for the coat, but laying it on the bed.

After making sure everything was laid out, I slid the suitcase back under the bed.

I pulled the end of the knot that was keeping my robe in place, undoing it. I let the robe slip off of me. The cold temperature making me shiver a little, but I quickly got used to it. I put on a fresh pair of underwear but opted to not wear a bra under my dress since it would show through the back.

I began to slip on my dress, carefully making sure not to get tangled in the back straps. It took a second to figure out where my arms and head went but I figured it out. The dress felt incredible, the silk material caressing my body. The green dress was very light and flowed gorgeously down to the floor. I did a quick spin in it to get used to the feel.

After being distracted for a moment, I quickly realized that I didn’t have time to mess around, so I walked back into the bathroom. I stood in front of the mirror while admiring the way the dress looked on me. It was the first time I’d actually worn it for longer than a minute, and it surprised me by the way it flattered my entire body.

I started to apply my makeup, starting with my eyes. I rubbed the tip of my pointer finger into a cream eyeshadow that was a medium brown color. It wasn’t too dark, or too light. It was the perfect shade to match any outfit for any occasion. I then applied the shadow to each of my eyelids, making sure to spread it evenly. Then, I took a small amount of vaseline and put it over top of the eyeshadow to finish the look off by giving it a lovely sheen.

I didn’t need any mascara since my eyelashes were already naturally long, but I did decide to curl them. After completing my eye look, I applied a small amount of blush to the apples of my cheeks.

I placed my blush down after applying it to my face and started to brush my hair out. I applied a smoothing serum to my hair, so there wouldn’t be any frizz.

I parted my hair down the middle, deciding not to do any fancy hairstyles since my hair already formed into soft curls, which provided enough volume so that I wouldn’t need to style it.

The last thing I needed to do was apply some lipstick, so I took a deep ruby shade of lipstick and applied it to my lips. After I finished applying the lipstick, I rubbed my lips together to make sure the lipstick was evenly distributed across my upper and lower lip.

I went back into the main area to finish getting ready. I checked the time quickly to make sure I wasn’t going to be late. _6:15 p.m._

“Fucking hell, how do I still manage to run late when I started getting ready early?!” I grumbled to myself.

I grabbed my black heels I set out earlier and slipped them on as fast as I could. I then slipped my gloves on, the glove stopping about mid-way on my upper arm.

I hurriedly put my jewelry on and grabbed my grey fur coat. I swung it over myself, putting my arms through the sleeves. The coat hanging loosely on me since it was made to be that way.

I took a few steps over to the desk and grabbed my important belongings, like my money and keys. I had an extra purse with me that I decided to use instead of my regular one, which was a medium-sized clutch bag.

I contemplated the thought of bringing my revolver with me for a moment, and eventually decided it would be a good idea...just in case.

I took the revolver and pushed the cylinder out ensuring that all the chambers were loaded.

One bullet was missing from the encounter I had with Sienna the other night, so I grabbed another bullet and put it into the empty chamber. Following that, I tucked my gun safely into the clutch bag I had, since it was big enough for it to fit inside.

I double-checked to make sure I had everything and assured myself that I did.

I took a deep breath, and walked out of my room, locking the door behind me, then headed down the staircase. I bolted down the stairs trying to make it out of the building on time.

I reached the lobby, which was slightly more crowded than yesterday. As I was walking past a small group of people I could hear their conversation. They were mainly talking about business endeavors, so I decided not to let my curiosity get the best of me.

I pushed the lobby door open feeling the cool, night breeze. It blew through my hair a bit, making it fly into my eyes momentarily. Thankfully, my fur coat provided a nice shield against the harsh breeze so that I wouldn’t be too cold.

I hailed for a cab, and within a minute, one pulled over to pick me up. I practically jumped into the cab, hoping I wouldn’t be too late.

“To Ricky’s Coffee Shop please,” I said, a slight panic evident in my voice.

__________________________________

After paying the taxi driver, I started walking up to the entrance of the shop. The sound of my heels clicking on the pavement was harsh, and the only sound that I could hear. I observed my surroundings, as I usually do, taking in the atmosphere. There weren’t many people around, only a couple walking down the sidewalk while giggling. They looked like they were headed off to a social gathering of some sort, with the way they were dressed. I tilted my wrist towards me to glance at the time on my watch. _7:15 p.m._

_I wasn’t that late, it’s fine._

I reached the entrance and saw the sign flipped to “Closed”. I tried pulling on the handle to open the door, but the door didn’t budge. It was locked.

I knocked a few times on the door to try and gain the attention of Rhana. Finally, after a few minutes, she came running up to the door from the other side waving. She turned the lock and pushed the door open for me, allowing me to enter.

“I’m so sorry for making you wait out there!” Rhana said, “I mean to be fair, I didn’t think you would show up,” she sighed.

“Yeah, uh, sorry about that. Sometimes I get sidetracked while getting ready,” I said, giving her an apologetic smile.

“It’s fine, but we should probably get going,” she said turning towards the door. I followed behind her. She reached for a set of light switches and pushed all of them down, turning the lights off in the shop.

“I told Ricky I would close the shop up tonight, so you can go out first. I just need to lock the door,” she said, motioning with her hand for me to exit first.

I nodded and walked outside, Rhana doing the same. She turned around with the key in her hand and turned the lock until it clicked. She pulled the door after she locked it, just to make sure that no one could get in. 

Rhana had on a stunning floor-length dress that was a very flattering deep shade of purple. The dress accentuated her curves and was accompanied by a fur coat. Her hair was put into a gorgeous low updo, with some fancy pins that were intricately placed within it. The way her dress flowed every time she moved was mesmerizing. She always looked good, and this dress only enhanced her features even more. She had gone for a more natural makeup look, with only having applied some mascara and blush.

Rhana turned back around to face me, “So, are you ready to head off?” she asked. “Of course!” I replied, excited.

Even though this visit to O’Leary’s Casino could gather important information for our case, I truly was excited to go out and enjoy myself. It had been so long since I was able to go out and just let loose with some friends, so being able to do this tonight brought back a sensation I forgot I had.

“Are you ok with walking a little? I have a guy who’ll take us to O’Leary’s for free, but he works for the Russo family,” Rhana asked.

“Yeah, that’s perfect. But I was meaning to tell you, that you’re going to have to call me Elizabeth, or Liz, tonight so I can protect my identity,” I stated.

“Gotcha,” Rhana said.

“Also, Rhana?” I said getting her attention. “Yes?” she replied. “If anyone asks about me, I recently moved here from Manhattan, I’m 22, and currently looking for a job,” I said.

“Ok, anything else?” she rolled her eyes, jokingly. “Nope!” I said, giving her a huge smile, while batting my eyelashes, returning her joking manner.

We continued to walk to the spot where we were supposed to be picked up at. Rhana and I both kept walking in a comfortable silence. It was about 7:30 p.m. now and the sun had already set a long time ago.

Tonight was beautiful, as there were many stars visible in the sky, shining brightly. However, the moon was formed into a crescent shape, so it didn’t provide much illumination. The dim street lamps, and stars, could only do so much for us, as we were walking through alleyways, trying to reach our destination.

I looked back down at my wristwatch and noticed that we had been walking for about 15 minutes. _Damn, how long are we going to keep walking?_

Just as I was about to say something, we rounded a corner, and I saw a man standing beside a black car.

“We’re here!” Rhana exclaimed, looking at me, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Thank god, my feet were about to fall off from walking in these heels,” I said with a sigh of relief.

As we approached closer to the man and his car, I could tell that it was a 1932 Ford Model T. My father had always wanted a Ford Model T, and he would always show me advertisements from the newspaper, getting excited whenever he would explain to me how it was his dream to own one.

The man who was taking us to O’Leary’s was leaning against the car, had his head facing up towards the sky, blowing cigarette smoke out of his mouth. “Anthony!” Rhana said while picking up her pace to go meet the man. The man heard her and removed his cigarette from his lips and put it out, squashing it on the pavement. “Rhana, how ya’ been?” he asked with a thick accent.

I stopped about a foot away from where Rhana and Anthony were talking. “Just amazing,” she replied. I grasped my purse becoming tense, _Holy shit, that’s Anthony Caruso._ I instantly noticed what I was doing and immediately relaxed again so that I wouldn’t come off as suspicious, and waited for Anthony and Rhana to finish their conversation.

“So who’s this you brought with ya’?” Anthony asked. I guess Rhana didn’t say anything to him about me yet. “Oh, that’s Elizabeth, but she likes to go by Liz,” Rhana said looking back at me winking. I gave a polite wave towards Anthony. “Ah, ok,” he said while looking me over for a moment. “Well, let’s get headed to O’Leary’s then,” he announced, tapping the roof of the car with his hand.

Anthony headed over to the back door, opening it up for us. I ducked my head, getting into the car, and scooted over to the other seat to allow room for Rhana.

Once Rhana and I finally settled into the backseat, Anthony proceeded to shut the door, and then hopped into the driver’s seat. He inserted the key into the ignition, starting the car. He then put the car into drive and began to pull out of the empty area he had parked in.

After driving for a couple of minutes, I kept noticing Anthony glancing at me through the rearview mirror. I tried ignoring it by looking out the window, to keep myself occupied. It was obvious that Anthony was a bit cautious of me since he’s never seen or heard of me before. I mean, who could blame him? He worked in a very dangerous business, so it was very hard for him to let his guard down around new people.

“So, Liz, where ya’ from?” Anthony asked, gazing at me through the rearview mirror. “Oh, I’m from Manhattan, but recently moved here to look for jobs,” I said smiling. He nodded and continued to drive down the road.

The car had started to slow down since there was a red light up ahead. “Have ya’ ever been to a casino?” Anthony asked. “No, I actually haven’t. This’ll be my first time,” I said, “I’m pretty excited though!” I gave him a radiant smile.

 _If one thing could help me become less suspicious, it would be by using charm._ I had a knack for charming men. It was a skill I learned over time. Sometimes, it would help with my job by having criminals admit to their crimes, so we could arrest them.

The car began to move again, as the red light had changed to green. I looked out of the window looking at all of the various buildings, becoming engulfed in thought. I wondered how tonight would go. Would it turn out good or bad? 

Then, the thought of the interaction Ward and I had earlier today entered my mind.

_I swear I could still feel his hot breath on the tip of my ear._

“Liz?” Rhana interrupted my thoughts. “Huh? Oh, sorry,” I said, looking towards her. “Are you gonna gamble tonight?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. I motioned for her to come closer with my finger. I leaned in towards her ear, “Hell, yeah I’m an ace at playing Blackjack and a good card counter,” I leaned back smirking. Rhana looked at me and laughed. I had a good feeling tonight would be fun.

_______________________________

We arrived at the casino. It had a huge sign on it with a variety of colors that displayed “O’Leary’s Casino”.

Anthony turned the car off and came around to open each of our doors. I stepped out of the car and was taken aback by the view. The casino was gorgeous from the outside, and I was only beginning to wonder what the inside looked like.

All three of us walked up to the entrance. Anthony held the door open for Rhana and me. We both stepped in and I gasped, “Holy shit, wow!”

There was so much happening. There were many different gambling games taking place, from Poker to Roulette. Around every table was a group of at least five men, not a table was empty. I could hear the sounds of triumph and defeat coming from every corner of the building.

Over to the right of the casino, there was a bar area. There were just as many men over there as there were at the tables. However, at the bar was where they were able to be entertained by the women who came here. And then, towards the back of the casino was a stage area where a band was playing some swing music.

Anthony, Rhana, and I all started to make our way through the busy place. As we were walking, I saw a man at one table gripping his hair, visibly in distress. “Damn! I’ve already lost twenty-five dollars,” he grunted, slamming his fists down on the table.

We continued to walk, the smell of cigar smoke starting to fill my nostrils. Every time we passed another table, steadily making our way towards the other location, it was rare to see any man without a cigar. Hell, even some of the women had cigarettes too. Not that I minded, I had just never seen a place, or crowd, as big as this.

“Jesus Christ, this place is huge and packed!” I said while still taking in everything. “I know, just wait till we get to the back,” Rhana said, “You’ll be more impressed!” It was slightly hard to hear each other due to the loud music and the chatter from everyone.

Anthony finally led us into, what seemed to be, the employee break room, which was located behind the bar. We turned the corner and were led to a door with a huge man standing in front of it. “These two are with me,” Anthony said, casually pointing back towards Rhana and me. The big man nodded, opening the door for us without hesitation.

Anthony walked in first, followed by Rhana, and then I trailed behind both of them. I heard the door shut behind us. I widened my eyes. This secret part of the casino was far more luxurious than the other. It also was a bit quieter than the other part, too, since there weren’t nearly as many people. There was another swing band playing; however, so it still was fairly loud.

This part of the casino was significantly more open than the other. With high ceilings, and more spaced out tables, it provided more room to move around.

In the middle of the room, there was a _“U”_ shaped bar, with red leather stools lining the entire outside of the counter. The shelves of liquor finished the _“U”_ shape off and enclosed it. The bartenders were able to get out through an opening that was towards the end of the bar counter.

The room also had plenty of light, which was coming from the grand chandeliers that were hung throughout the room. There were some normal tables that were situated just behind the bar where people could sit and watch.

The gambling tables were made from mahogany wood. The chairs seated at the tables were also cushioned with leather, and matched the stools at the bar. Most of the tables had at least three or more men seated at them, with a lot of the games being played being either poker or blackjack.

“I’ll take you ladies back tonight, but for now I’ll be goin’ over there,” Anthony said while pointing over towards a table with three men sitting at it. I looked over to the table he had just pointed at and recognized every single one of them. In the middle was the notorious Matteo Russo. He had light brown hair and green eyes, with a clean-shaven face. He had a defined jawline and slightly defined cheekbones. His nose was a bit on the larger side, but it suited his face well and looked good. He had removed his suit jacket and vest, which only left him with his white button-up shirt and tie. His suspenders and gun holster were on display, and his sleeves were rolled up just past his elbows.

He was laughing with a man who sat to his left, Frank Gallo. Frank had blonde hair and blue eyes. He also had more defined cheekbones and a slightly narrow face. If he wasn’t laughing with Matteo, he would definitely be very intimidating. The man sitting to the right of Matteo was Don Mitchell. Don looked unamused at the two other men. He had black hair with dark blue eyes to match. He had some scruff and the most intense resting face I’d ever seen. He looked angry.

I felt a tug on my arm, “Liz, let’s go get some drinks, c’mon,” Rhana said, her eyes sparkling from the lighting. I followed behind her and looked around some more. There was a table somewhat hidden from everything, where some people were snorting something.

I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be, so I continued to walk. I took notice of how beautiful Rhana’s dress looked. The way the light hit her deep purple-colored dress, made it shimmer.

We reached the bar and sat next to each other in the leather stools. “I meant to tell you this earlier, but you look absolutely astonishing. Seriously, that dress looks sweet on you,” Rhana spoke, while resting her face in her palms.

One of the bartenders took notice of us sitting at the bar and walked over instantly. “What’ll it be ladies?” the bartender asked. “I’ll take a Shirley Temple,” I said, “And she’ll have,” I looked over towards Rhana. “Oh, I’ll have a….,” Rhana trailed off, debating what she wanted, “A Southside please,” she declared, smiling at the bartender. “I’ll be right back with those then,” the bartender responded, walking off towards the shelves filled with alcohol.

I removed my gloves and put them away in my purse. I placed my bag down onto the counter and noticed Rhana staring at someone. I placed my right hand on her shoulder and whispered, “So who’s the guy?” I asked, giving her a cheeky smile. She lightly swatted my hand away in a playful manner, “Simon Wright.” I looked at her with an interested expression. “He’s very charming, and I heard he has some money,” she added while wiggling her eyebrows.

Rhana turned to look behind me, “Looks like Matteo is coming over here. I bet you he’ll put our drinks on his tab,” she laughed.

“Here’s your drinks ladies,” the bartender said while setting our drinks down. “Did you want to start a tab or-” the bartender was interrupted. “Just put it on my tab Arthur,” Matteo said. Rhana leaned in towards my ear, “I told you,” she chuckled.

“So who’s your friend you brought Rhana?” Matteo inquired. He looked straight into my eyes, curious to know who I was. Rhana was about to introduce me, but I decided that I would do it myself. “I’m Elizabeth Walters, but please call me Liz,” I smiled.

“Ah, well I hope you enjoy yourself. Maybe you and Rhana could join us in a game of blackjack?” he offered. “We’d love to,” Rhana answered. Matteo turned around, which prompted Rhana and me to follow. I grabbed my bag and drink and began walking beside Rhana. “Did we just get invited to play with _the_ Matteo Russo?” I asked, incredulously. “Yeah, I thought I told you we were friends,” Rhana laughed. She paused for a moment. “You look tense,” she lowered her voice, “Relax a little or Don might catch onto you. Trust me, he can literally sniff out law enforcement.”

“Well shit, I should’ve ordered something stronger then,” I deadpanned.

We finally reached the table where Anthony, Frank, and Don were already sitting. Matteo went and took his seat in between Frank and Don, while Rhana took a seat to the left of Frank. I took my seat in between Rhana and Anthony, which had me directly facing Matteo.

I removed my coat and hung it on the back of the chair. After making sure it was secure in place, I turned back around to see Matteo gazing at me. I chose to ignore him and cleared my throat, taking a sip of my drink.

“So, who’s the babe?” Frank asked, staring at me. I swallowed the sip of drink I had previously taken, choking a bit at his bluntness, “I’m Elizabeth Walters, but I go by Liz,” I answered. He nodded and leaned back into his chair. Everyone returned to their conversation. Frank and Anthony were placing bets on who could charm a random woman that one of them had pointed out earlier, and Matteo and Don were talking with their voices lowered, so I was uncertain of what they were saying.

“So, what do you think so far?” Rhana inquired, nudging my side. “Well, this is definitely different from what I’m used to,” I replied, taking another sip of my drink.

Matteo eventually spoke up, to which everyone at the table stopped what they were doing and directed their attention towards him. “How about a game of blackjack?” he asked, grabbing the deck of cards. There weren’t any dealers in this part of the casino, so I assumed we weren’t playing against the house.

_I guess everyone in this part dictates their own games._

“Get me another deck, Frank,” Matteo instructed. Frank did as he was told and went off to go retrieve another deck of cards. “Since there’s six of us, I thought it’d be better to use two decks instead of one,” Matteo said, preoccupied with shuffling the cards.

I watched him carefully shuffle the cards. The way his hands wrapped around the deck, splitting it in half, just to shuffle them again. I looked at him for a bit longer noticing how his biceps looked as if they would burst through his shirt at any moment.

I felt Rhana tap my foot with hers, “Anne, you’re catching flies,” she whispered so that no one else could hear. I quickly realized my mouth was agape and closed it instantly.

 _What the hell Anne? This is no place to gawk over a prominent mafia member._ I silently scolded myself for my actions.

“Here’s the extra deck you asked for,” Frank said while tossing the pack down in front of Matteo.

Matteo slid the pack over towards me, “There, you shuffle that deck,” Matteo paused for a moment, “ _Because a woman’s touch is the best kind of touch there is._ ” I sat there shocked.

 _“Because a woman’s touch is the best kind of touch there is.”_ The words kept replaying in my head. _There’s absolutely no fucking way he just said that._

I glanced back up to Matteo to see if I was imagining things or not, and of course, he had the most mischievous smirk plastered onto his face.

“Liz?” Rhana called my name while resting a hand on my arm. The other men sat patiently, waiting for me to shuffle the other deck of cards.

I took the deck of cards out of the box they were in and started to shuffle. I began by cutting the deck in two and used the “riffle shuffle” method to mix the cards together.

I shuffled the cards about four times until I decided that they were shuffled thoroughly. I didn’t realize Matteo had finished shuffling his deck a while ago, which left everyone staring at me, waiting for me to finish.

I lifted myself off of my chair so I could place the shuffled deck of cards in front of Matteo.

I had come to a realization earlier that one of the best ways I could infiltrate either the Russo or Colombo families, would have to be through seduction.

So, as I placed the cards in front of Matteo, I made sure to squeeze my arms together, just barely enough, to where it would accentuate my breasts. It was enough for any man to take notice, and it looked like my plan had worked. If someone wasn’t paying as close attention as I was, they would never have noticed Matteo’s gaze flicker to my chest for a brief second.

I moved my eyes back up to meet his and batted my eyelashes for a moment while giving him a flirtatious smile.

I sat back down onto the leather chair, sinking into it slightly. Rhana evidently saw what I had done and nudged me with her elbow. She leaned into my ear and whispered, “Look what you did,” she started laughing, while subtly pointing towards Matteo. She placed her left elbow on me, and leaned onto my shoulder, waiting for me to figure it out.

I observed him for a moment trying to figure out what Rhana meant. He was turned towards Frank, conversing with him. I looked at Matteo’s eyes and saw they were dilated. “Ok, I’m not really seeing anything eye-catching,” I admitted to Rhana, still whispering so no one else would hear us.

“Look a bit _closer_ ,” Rhana suggested whilst tapping her fingers on my arm, matching the rhythm of the song that was playing.

Matteo had leaned back into his chair a bit and that’s when I noticed.

I looked over at Rhana with my mouth open a little. “Jesus Christ, I didn’t mean to give the man a boner, what the fuck,” I whispered in a surprised tone.

I took the last sip of my drink and set the glass back down onto the table. Rhana leaned back into my ear, “When we start the game, and if one of us wins, do you want to split the winnings?” she asked. “Of course,” I replied, “Also when we play, keep one of your hands in your lap, palm up. We’ll write the total of our card numbers on each other’s hands, but if we bust, we write a “B” onto the other person’s palm. Just try not to make it obvious and don’t look down to write,” I explained.

“All right so let’s place bets. Whoever wins gets all the money,” Matteo said, getting out his wallet.

“I’ll put down a Lincoln,” I announced, setting a five-dollar bill in the middle of the table. “Me too,” Rhana said and followed my previous actions, also setting down a five-dollar bill.

“I’m putting down a sawbuck,” Anthony stated and placed his money into the pile. Frank, Don, and Matteo did the same and all added a ten-dollar bill in the pile.

After everyone was done placing their bets, Don took the money and counted it, “40… 45… and 50. We’ve got 50 dollars,” he declared setting the organized pile of money back in the middle of the table.

Matteo took the two shuffled decks and put them together. He started dealing to his left and gave Frank his card facedown. He repeated this giving Rhana her card, then me, Anthony, and Don ours. He reached himself and placed his card face down as well.

He began to deal the second round of cards face up. After he dealt the last card to himself, it signaled that it was time to start the fun part of the game.

In blackjack the player to the left of the dealer starts first, so that made Frank the first player.

Frank had a five of diamonds showing. “Hit me,” Frank said. Matteo dealt him another card face up. It was a six of spades, which gave Frank a total of eleven. “Hit me,” he said again. Matteo dealt him a seven of clubs. “I’ll stand,” Frank declared, setting his hands down on the table.

I felt Rhana’s finger write the number two and zero into my palm. I remained unfazed and turned my attention towards her since it was her turn to be dealt cards. Rhana was already at twenty, which was a really good hand to be dealt in blackjack. “I’ll stand,” Rhana said.

Matteo then moved on to me. I had a two of clubs and an eight of hearts, which gave me a total of ten. I wrote the number ten into Rhana’s palm while asking for another card. It was a seven of spades and brought my total to seventeen. I should’ve backed down since I was already close to twenty-one, and had a good chance of busting, but I didn’t. “Hit me,” I demanded my eyes glaring intensely into Matteo’s.

He didn’t break eye contact and dealt me a card, flipping it over. _Two of clubs_. I kept a straight face, but I internally sighed a breath of relief. My total came to nineteen.

“I’ll stand.”

It was Anthony’s turn next, and he already had a face card, so I was hoping he didn’t have an ace as his other card. Anthony motioned his hand for another card, “C’mere.” He was dealt an eight of diamonds. His total came out to eighteen, and I was hoping he had busted, but there was no telling if he had a two or a three as his facedown card.

Don’s turn went by fairly quickly since he didn’t ask for any cards. So, I waited for Matteo to deal himself a card. There wasn’t a high chance of him having a natural hand, so I was expecting him to lay down a card.

I gazed up to Matteo to see if his face would reveal if he had a good hand or not. I tried observing his body language, and everything, but my attempt was ultimately unsuccessful.

I’m not really sure why I thought a high-rank member of the mafia would reveal anything through his face or body language, but I was desperate with anticipation. I wanted to know if Rhana and I had won.

Apparently, Matteo had caught onto my anxiousness because he looked straight into my eyes, with a soft smirk on his face.

I looked down at the deck of cards in his hand and saw him take a card from it at a painfully slow speed. He toyed with it in his fingers for a moment, teasing me.

Thankfully, he eventually flipped the card in between his pointer and middle finger, flipping it over to reveal a four of hearts. The cards that were showing totaled to eleven since the other card he had was a seven of clubs.

Everyone had finally been dealt their cards and now it was time to reveal our hands.

Frank flipped his facedown card over, revealing a face card. “Busted, twenty-eight” he announced with a disappointed tone. He slouched back in his chair and looked over to Rhana, her turn being next. She revealed her hand, having two face cards. “Twenty,” she smirked, knowing she had the best chance of winning.

Matteo rested his face into his left hand and looked directly at me waiting for me to flip my card over. I was about to, when I hesitated. I remembered how Matteo had teased me earlier, so I decided to reciprocate his actions.

I glanced up at Matteo, my eyes meeting his focused ones. I started at the top of the card, steadily dragging my finger to the bottom.

After a few moments, Matteo caught on to what I was doing, and his eyes met with mine. My finger reached the bottom of the card, and I flipped it over. Although I had already turned my card over, revealing my hand, he never broke eye contact. “Nineteen,” I stated, while breaking eye contact to look over to Anthony, waiting for him to show his hand.

Anthony sighed, “Busted.” He had flipped over a five of hearts giving him a total of twenty-three.

Don’s turn was next and he had a total of eighteen.

I was expecting Matteo to make everyone impatient by taking too long to show his cards, but to my surprise, he didn’t. His total came out to seventeen, which left Rhana the winner.

She took the pile of money from the middle of the table and put it directly in her purse.

“Thanks for your money everyone!” she joked. Anthony and Frank looked bitter since they didn’t win, as they had hoped.

We played three more games, passing the time by. Each game I only bet two dollars, since I didn’t really want to waste my money. However, Frank, Anthony, Don, and Matteo kept betting ten dollars or more. They probably had a steady source of income from being in a gang.

In the second game, we played Don won forty-three dollars. The third game came to a tie between me and Frank, so we had to choose a card, and whoever had the highest number won. I had a face card, which was ten, and he had an eight of clubs, which made me the winner, leaving me to take the fifty-five dollars that were bet on the round.

In the fourth game, Matteo had won forty-five dollars.

It was already 11:30 p.m. but everyone at the table continued to chat.

A waiter had come by the table, “Can I get anyone another drink?” he asked. “Yeah, I want another Southside,” Rhana said. “I would like a scotch on the rocks,” I spoke up. “Sure thing, does anyone want anything else?” the waiter asked once more, while holding out his pen to write on his notepad. “Add another scotch to that,” Anthony stated.

“All right, I’ll be right back with those,” the waiter replied, walking off to the bar.

“So what brings you here to the Queens?” Don asked, crossing his arms.

_The number of times I had been asked this question was starting to get ridiculous._

“Well, I came here from Manhattan in search of a job, and heard that the Queens had some good opportunities, so I moved out here,” I replied.

“Really? I have a sister, Irene, she lives there. What area are you from?” Matteo asked, looking at me with interest. “The Midtown area,” I responded. “Hm, she lives in the Upper West Side area, so you probably haven’t met her then,” he said.

We carried on, getting to know each other a bit better. Obviously, Matteo wasn’t really getting to know the real me, but I had a fake story to tell just in case questions like these were asked.

I kept lying to him and went on about how I lived with my aunt after my parents were forced to give me up since they couldn’t afford to feed or clothe me.

He opened up just a little bit more, telling me about how one of his sisters, Irene, moved to the Upper West Side in hopes of becoming a fashion designer. His other sister, Frances, still lived nearby, however, she was just indulging herself in the luxuries of life. I imagined it must be easy for her since her family is practically bursting with money.

“Here’s your drinks,” the waiter announced, approaching the table. After he sat my drink down, I instantly took a sip. “Wow, this is really smooth,” I commented, taking another sip.

“Only the finest for our customers,” Matteo said, showing off his pearly whites.

Frank and Anthony walked off going to go talk to the woman they had spotted from before. Don went off to go talk to a well-known business man, Albert Capps.

“Hey, Liz, I’m going to go talk to Simon,” she said, shimmying her eyebrows. “Go get 'em,” I replied gently nudging her along.

_Oh fuck, wait I didn’t know this would’ve left me alone with Matteo._

I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just said the first thing that came to mind. “Another game of blackjack?” I proposed, swinging my right arm over the back of the chair I was sitting at, leaning back against it.

“Sure, but on one condition,” Matteo said, his eyes skimming over me, “I get to take you out to dinner if I win,” he smirked.

I thought about it for a moment.

_What’s the worst that could happen?_

“Deal the cards then,” I replied, suggesting to Matteo that I had accepted his proposal. He only shuffled one deck this time. I sat back up in my chair, putting my elbow on the table, and resting my face in my palm.

I started checking him out again. I knew he was an underboss for a mafia family we were trying to infiltrate, but I had to admit he was sort of attractive.

_Almost as attractive as Ward…_

I saw his biceps flex under his tight-fitted shirt every time he would go in to shuffle the cards.

He finished shuffling the cards and placed a card facedown in front of me, then doing the same for himself. He then dealt the second round of cards face up.

I had an eight of diamonds and a seven of clubs, which came out to be fifteen total. “Hit me,” I demanded, to which Matteo happily complied.

I got a face card.

_You’ve got to be fucking joking._

I had twenty-five which resulted in me busting. I decided to play it off as if I had won.

I looked directly at Matteo and smirked. “Don’t tell me you’ve got blackjack already,” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out, _Mr. Russo_ ,” I replied.

I was hoping that by seeming as if I had an advantage, that would prompt Matteo to draw more cards and bust. But sadly, my idea didn’t work. “Well I guess I’ll stand then, _Ms. Walters_ ,” he replied, with a smug grin on his face.

I scoffed, turning over my cards to reveal I had busted.

Matteo got up from his chair and walked over behind me, putting his hands on the table, trapping me in. He leaned close enough down to my ear, so that I could hear him.

“Looks like I’ll be taking you to dinner,” he stated, walking off to talk to someone.

I sat there blinking.

_It was settled, I was going to have dinner with the fucking underboss of the Russo family._


End file.
